But\u00a0he admits\u00a0stargazing while living in the city’s core is a challenge because light pollution gets in the way of some of the\u00a0best sites, forcing him to travel outside of London to catch the night sky.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“Downtown has a lot of lights, right? So those lights go up into the atmosphere and then reflect down, so we’re basically getting this big halo that’s really\u00a0blocking our view of seeing anything,” Patel told CBC’s Afternoon Drive guest host Kate Adach.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It’s why Patel is raising\u00a0awareness about light pollution in London.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
“Light pollution harms basically everything, it’s like really bad,” Patel said, noting its impact on humans and other species. “It also affects our circadian rhythm, so our sleep patterns are affected, and we’re not able to sleep properly because of light pollution.<\/p>\n
“One example is baby turtles who follow the moon’s light to guide them to the seas, and they mistake it for\u00a0lights on the street, and they go the wrong way and leave their habitats, so that’s not good for them. And birds need to be in the dark to hunt, so sometimes\u00a0they can hit the light and die, so that’s not good for anything,” he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
LISTEN | Two generations of stargazers on the importance of dark skies:<\/p>\n
Afternoon DriveTwo generations of star gazers hope for darker skies<\/p>\n
12 year old Siddharth Patel has been winning awards for his night sky photography, but quickly realized he had to leave his home city of London for a better view and now is an advocate for dark skies. Peter Jedicke with the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada in London, agrees. Guest host Kate Adach speaks with both star gazers to hear more.<\/p>\n
Patel frequently hosts local events where he explains to community members just how light pollution is taking away from night skies in the cities and why preserving the dark matters. He’s also a member of Dark Sky International, a non-profit which provides information on how to reduce light pollution.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Peter Jedicke, a member of the\u00a0Royal Astronomical Society of Canada’s London branch, agrees the skies in southwestern Ontario aren’t ideal for stargazers, describing them\u00a0as “awful” and “terrible”.<\/p>\n
“There are no really dark skies anywhere between basically Windsor and Montreal. You know, southwest of London, there are a\u00a0few patches where it’s not quite as bad as in the city,” said Jedicke.<\/p>\n
“[Dark skies] connect us to nature, our heritage and to our history, and we are at risk of losing that. With light pollution in the background sky, you don’t see as much. Even when you look through the telescope, light pollution’s a problem, so it kind of ruins the experience of looking at the sky.”<\/p>\n
![\"Catching](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/siddharth-with-telescope.jpg\")
Catching the night sky is a nearly impossible task for enthusiast Siddharth Patel, who says he has to travel dozens of kilometres outside London to access dark skies. (Submitted by Siddharth Patel)<\/p>\n
Jedicke believes light pollution isn’t\u00a0a top priority for municipalities, but better awareness could help\u00a0minimize the impacts of light pollution in the city’s overall infrastructure when renewing light fixtures on streets, subdivisions, or on highways, he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“There’s an awful lot of awareness of many environmental factors and environmental concerns, and light pollution is sort of just not quite on that list, so we would love to see it just step up a little so it’s sort of part of the conversation,” he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
However, seeing youngsters like Patel take such a strong interest\u00a0in advocating for dark skies gives Jedicke hope that a new generation of stargazers is up to the task, he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As for Patel, he’ll continue his escapades and photography. This weekend, he’s travelling to North York for Star Fest, an event where stargazers come together.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“I’m most looking forward to capturing the Veil Nebula and the Veil PT, which is this cloud complex, which is really cool. I also want to meet up with people, share my experiences and talk more about light pollution,” he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n