The City Dark (Science on Screen)

Introduction by James Lowenthal, Professor of Astronomy, Smith College. Science on Screen® presents creative pairings of current, classic, cult, and documentary films with lively introductions by notable figures from the world of science, technology, and medicine. THE CITY DARK chronicles the disappearance of darkness. The film follows filmmaker (and amateur astronomer) Ian Cheney (KING CORN, THE ARC OF OBLIVION), who moves to New York City from Maine and discovers an urban sky almost completely devoid of stars. He poses a deceptively simple question, "What do we lose, when we lose the night?" Exploring the threat of killer asteroids in Hawai'i, tracking disoriented hatching turtles along the Florida coast, and rescuing birds on Chicago streets injured by collisions with buildings, Cheney unravels the myriad implications of a globe glittering with lights—including increased breast cancer rates from exposure to light at night, and a generation of kids without a glimpse of the universe above. In six chapters weaving together cutting-edge science with personal, meditative sequences reflecting on the human relationship to the sky, THE CITY DARK shines new light on the meaning of the dark. Topic: “Rhythm of the Night: Reclaiming the Dark” What do fireflies, breast cancer, crime, and the Milky Way have to do with each other? THE CITY DARK is a lyrical and haunting ode to natural darkness at night and the magic it offers, and a piercing warning about what we lose when we banish darkness at night with uncontrolled artificial lighting. Filmmaker Ian Cheney interviews medical doctors, cancer victims, conservation biologists, astronomers, police officers, lighting professionals, and historians around the world in a quest to understand why we are so obsessed with banishing darkness at night, and what the costs—both the obvious and the hidden—of light pollution really are. Join astronomy professor James Lowenthal (Smith College) for an engaging discussion and talk-back after the screening, including how the Dark Sky Movement is defending the night right here in the Valley. Speaker: James Lowenthal, Professor of Astronomy, Smith College James Lowenthal is the Mary Elizabeth Moses Professor of Astronomy at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, USA. He received his BS in Physics and Astronomy from Yale and his PhD in Astronomy from the University of Arizona. He studies the formation and evolution of galaxies, especially actively star-forming galaxies. He leads the local advocacy group Northampton City Lights; is the Massachusetts Chapter Leader for DarkSky; chairs the Light Pollution Sub-Committee of the American Astronomical Society Committee for the Protection of Astronomy and the Space Environment; and is President of the International Astronomical Union's Commission on Site Protection (i.e., light pollution). He spends as much time as he can outside under the stars.