The Future of Night: An Award-Winning Night Sky Photographer on the Importance of Darkness

For decades, we’ve sought to make the night “safer” by lighting it. Now, night skies are lost to many of us: 80% of the world and 99% of Europeans and U.S. residents live under light polluted skies. But scientists and society at large are only just starting to understand the ecological, immunological, economic, and existential repercussions from the loss of darkness. Luckily, there’s still hope.

Sivani Babu is an award-winning journalist and nature photographer who has spent years documenting night skies and writing about dark sky conservation. As a child, she used to admire the Milky Way from her own driveway, but as an adult, she walked out one night and realized she could no longer see it — lost to encroaching skyglow. She felt that something important had been lost and wanted to meet the people who were fighting to bring it back (or preserve it where it still existed).

In the Future of Night, Sivani will introduce us to scientists, unlikely advocates, and starscapes. She’ll take us beneath some of the darkest skies on Earth and discuss what their loss might mean for humanity and the species we share our planet with. Following the presentation, she’ll be joined by fellow Hidden Compass co-founder Sabine K. Bergmann to look to the future and discuss how we can band together to save the night.

Bio

Sivani Babu is an award-winning journalist and nature photographer who you might also recognize as the co-founder and CEO of Hidden Compass. She has contributed to numerous publications, including BBC Travel, CNN, Backpacker, Outdoor Photographer, and Narrative. Her work as a journalist and editor has been recognized in the Best American Travel Writing series and has appeared in exhibits from San Diego to the Sorbonne. 

Sivani grew up admiring celestial phenomena with her parents and learning about the cosmos from her dad, an amateur astronomer. In 2014, Sivani left her career as a federal public defender to pursue a career in conservation journalism. As a photographer, she captures the scale and beauty of landscapes and the creatures that inhabit them and has spent much of the last decade focusing her lens on the darkest skies on the planet. Her work has taken her from Siberia to Patagonia to the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, where she navigated the seas by starlight. She has published a number of articles, given talks, and appeared on podcasts to discuss dark sky conservation and the importance of saving the night. She is currently at work on her first book — Saving the Night: Shedding Light on the Importance of Darkness.