Under a clear night sky, it’s good to look up and sense the beauty and magnitude of space.

Unfortunately a combination of urban sprawl and inefficient street lighting means that if you live in or near a city, it is becoming the case that if you want to see stars, the only way of doing it is to get a friend to give you a sharp tap on the head with solid object.

A less painful method - if you’re in the US anyway - is to partake in National Dark-Sky Week, “an event, usually occurring in April, during which people in the United States are encouraged to turn out their unnecessary outdoor lights in order to temporarily reduce light pollution”.