To support the natural feeding, mating and biological patterns of wildlife, dark skies are protected by the National Park Service. Despite the need for dark skies protection, nighttime visitors may feel safer in brighter lighting, according to a new study from researchers in the Penn State Department of Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management (RPTM).

The team led by Associate Professor Derrick Taff, doctoral student Elizabeth Himschoot and doctoral student Morgan Crump found that people were 31.6% more likely to report higher feelings of safety in white light than amber light and 81.7% more likely to report higher feelings of safety at 5.0 lux, a unit of illuminance, than 0.5 lux. For reference, 0.2 lux roughly equates to a full moon under clear skies and 5.0 lux is less than current outdoor lighting standards.

While visitors did feel more comfortable under brighter and whiter lights, this was still at levels significantly lower than current outdoor lighting practices, which suggests there can be a balance between human and wildlife needs rather than a tension point, according to the researchers.

The researchers published their findings in the Journal of Environmental Psychology.

"The Natural Sounds and Night Skies Division of the National Park Service is tasked with monitoring, documenting, protecting and preserving natural light and sound," Taff said. "Wildlife do not need the nighttime light produced by humans, as wildlife have the moon and stars. We wanted to find out how little light is needed for humans to feel safe at night."

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