地球的夜晚太亮 這其實很危險

Goodbye, Moon. We don't need you anymore.

再見，月亮，我們再也不需要你了！

The EArth's night skies are getting brighter. A study published in the journal Science Advances, finds the Earth's artificially lit outdoor areas grew by 2.2 percent per year from 2012 to 2016.

地球的夜空正在變得更加明亮。發表在《Science Advance》期刊上的一項研究發現，地球上人造光源覆蓋的戶外區域在，在2012年到2016年間增長了2.2%。

Light pollution is actually worse than that, according to the researchers.

據研究人員表示，光污染實際比其他污染更嚴重。

The measurements used in the study come from an imaging sensor on a polar-orbiting weather satellite that can't detect the color blue generated by the new and increasingly popular LED lights, which means some light is missed by the sensor.

在該項研究當中用到的測量值，是來自極地軌道氣象衛星的成像傳感器，但是它探測不到由新生並日漸增多的LED光源產生的藍光，這就意味着一些光線被該傳感器漏掉了。

Overall, 79 countries, mostly in Asia, South America and Africa, experienced a growth in nighttime brightness.

在這些年中，全球總共有79個國家--其中大部分位於亞洲、南美洲和非洲--的夜間光源數量呈增長趨勢。

Sixteen countries, including areas of conflict such as Syria and Yemen, witnessed a decrease, and 39 countries, including the U.S., stayed the same.

而有16個國家，其中包括瞭如敘利亞和也門在內的衝突地區，這一數字有所下降。包括美國在內的39個國家的這一數字則保持不變。

"Artificial light is an environmental pollutant that threatens nocturnal animals and affects plants and microorganisms," the study said.

該研究指出：“人造光是一種環境污染，會威脅夜間活動的動物，並影響到植物以及微生物。”

Light pollution has been known to have adverse effects on all living creatures. People's sleep can be marred, in turn affecting their health.

衆所周知，光污染會對所有生物有不利影響。人們的睡眠會被破壞，進而影響他們的健康。

The migration and reproduction of birds, fish, amphibians, insects and bats can be disrupted, and plants can have abnormally extended growing periods.

鳥類、魚類、兩棲動物、昆蟲類及蝙蝠的遷居和繁衍會被擾亂，而植物則會遭遇異常地生長期延長。

Co-author of the study, Franz Holker of the Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries in Berlin, said things are at the critical point.

該項研究的合著者、來自柏林萊布尼茲淡水和內陸漁業研究院的弗蘭茲·霍爾克表示，現在正處於事態的關鍵時期。

"Many people are using light at night without really thinking about the cost," Holker said. "Not just the economic cost, but also the cost that you have to pay from an ecological, environmental perspective."

霍爾克稱：“許多人在晚上使用光，而沒有意識到真正的費用。不只是經濟費用，還有你不得不支付的關於生態的、環境的前景的費用。”