"Contemporaneously, active satellite numbers rose from 1167 in 2014 to 15,623 as of today. The average human now sees barely 100 stars, rather than thousands, each night. Mostly Mute Monday tells an astronomical story in images, visuals, and no more than 200 words."
Most of humanity historically experienced dark, pristine night skies where nighttime brightness came primarily from extraterrestrial sources. Naked-eye viewing could include thousands of stars nightly, with estimates of 6,000 to 9,000 stars cumulatively. Modern conditions differ because artificial lighting now exceeds natural sky brightness for most people on Earth. This reduces routine visibility of stars, nebulae, and other natural features. Light pollution has worsened, especially since LED lighting became widespread. Studies show severe sky brightening across Europe, the Americas, and worldwide, with the strongest increases in Asia. From 2014 to 2022, total artificial sky brightness rose by 34%, while only a few regions became dimmer. Much of the light is wasted by illuminating the sky rather than the ground, and satellite numbers increased sharply from 1,167 in 2014 to 15,623 today, further contributing to the problem. The average person now sees barely about 100 stars per night.
Read at Big Think
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