Glowatch Archives - Cielos de Chile

The night brought us together again: this was the third edition of the Glowatch Walks

Amparo Fuentes — Tue, 02 Sep 2025 15:49:23 +0000

In thirteen locations across the country, citizens gathered to report sources of light pollution through an app. The activity aims to raise awareness about the effects of inefficient artificial lighting use and promote the care of the night skies.

On the occasion of International Light Day, last Friday, May 16th, the third edition of the Glowatch Walks took place, a citizen initiative that brings together people from different regions of the country to identify and report sources of light pollution. Organized by Fundación Cielos de Chile, in partnership with Fundación Ciluz and the Center for Astrophysics and Related Technologies (CATA), this event added 72 new reports to the Glowatch platform.

Participants walked through streets of Copiapó, Coquimbo, Andacollo, Temuco, and Santiago in search of misdirected lights, dazzle, use of cold lights, intrusive lighting, and other cases of improper light use. Each report contributed to raising awareness about responsible artificial light use and highlighting a problem that affects both biodiversity and human health.

Sky protection combined with art

In Santiago, this edition of the Glowatch Walks incorporated an artistic dimension thanks to collaboration with OH! Stgo and ARTLUM, creating a journey that combined art and citizen science. Participants visited illuminated installations of the Light Art Festival and explored the role of light in urban space and its impact.

Additionally, during the activity, Daniela González, Executive Director of Fundación Cielos de Chile, invited attendees to take a mindful walk through the area to observe contaminating light sources attentively. “Whenever we talk about light pollution, we talk about inefficiency. Our call is to use light beautifully, care for our heritage, and protect the dark skies,” she emphasized.

What is Glowatch?

Glowatch is a citizen science tool that allows easy recording of light pollution sources using WhatsApp as a reporting channel. Observations can be made anytime during the year without waiting for another walk. You just need to visit the Glowatch website and click on the WhatsApp icon to start reporting.

Furthermore, the platform features a public, georeferenced, and continuously updated database that displays over 380 reports made from different points across the country.

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Glare: the main light pollution problem reported in Glowatch

Nicolás Carrasco — Tue, 29 Oct 2024 13:44:19 +0000

More than 235 reports in the citizen science tool Glowatch have allowed the creation of a map of artificial light pollution sources throughout the country.

Last Thursday, October 17, the Glowatch Walks took place, where groups of citizens in nine communes of the country reported cases of light pollution. In this second edition of the activity, organized by the Cielos de Chile Foundation, the Ciluz Foundation, the Center for Astrophysics and Related Technologies (CATA), and the Center for Mathematical Modeling, 68 new reports were added to the Glowatch platform.

This time, within the framework of the implementation of the New Lighting Standard, participants walked the streets of Iquique, Antofagasta, Caldera, Vallenar, Andacollo, Colina (Chicureo), Las Condes, Providencia, and Puerto Varas to identify and report cases of light pollution, such as glare, poorly directed light, cold light, or intrusive light.

What do the Glowatch reports show?

To date, the reports collected by Glowatch offer a detailed overview of the main light pollution problems in different regions of the country. Daniela González, executive director of the Cielos de Chile Foundation, highlights that the tool’s data already allows identifying the sources that authorities should pay attention to in order to enforce the New Lighting Standard. “We already have more than 200 reports, which has allowed us to create an initial map of how lighting is being done in various cities of the country,” she stated.

The most detected type of light pollution by users has been glare, with 33.19% of the total reports, followed by over-illumination with 24.45% of the cases. Another significant type of reported light pollution has been cold white light, representing 11.79% of the reports. Additionally, other cases of poor lighting have been recorded, such as intrusive light (10.92%), wasted light (10.04%), and light directed towards the sky (9.61%).

Regarding the areas where these polluting sources were detected, most reports focused on public street lighting, with 38.2% of the total. 21.89% of the reported lights were in commercial areas, while 19.74% corresponded to lights in private residences. Cases were also recorded in sports facilities (10.30%) and even a report was made in a protected area.

How to use Glowatch to report light pollution?

Glowatch aims to be an educational tool for sustainable lighting that encourages citizens to get involved in protecting dark skies from their neighborhoods, workplaces, and even their own homes. “The invitation to people is to be attentive to their surroundings to identify those lights that pollute. Sometimes in our own homes, we have lights that are poorly directed or may be wasting energy. The call is to reflect on the way we illuminate and make the necessary adjustments to take care of our health and the environment,” explained Daniela González.

Reports can be made at any time, any day of the week, without having to wait for the next Glowatch Walks. You just need to visit the website and click on the WhatsApp icon available on the platform. Additionally, a complete and georeferenced database of all received reports is available.

The post Glare: the main light pollution problem reported in Glowatch appeared first on Cielos de Chile.

Glowatch Walks: The nighttime routes to report sources of light pollution are back

Nicolás Carrasco — Wed, 16 Oct 2024 16:10:34 +0000

The activity is organized by the Cielos de Chile Foundation, the Center for Light and Energy Research (Ciluz), and the Center for Astrophysics and Related Technologies (CATA) and will take place on October 17 at 7:30 PM.

In this citizen science activity, people can join the protection of dark skies. Using the Glowatch tool, participants can report and highlight sources of light pollution throughout the country. Find out about the meeting points!

Glowatch walk meeting places:

Iquique: Parque las Banderas, Playa Brava. Monitor: Verónica González, ONG Golondrina de Mar.

Antofagasta: Plazoleta Sector Coviefi, Argentina Avenue with Santa Fé. Monitor: Wladimir Valladares, Social Innovation Project Manager / North Acoustics.

Caldera: Plaza de Armas Carlos Condell. Monitors: Doménica Vitali, Municipal Tourism Office of the Illustrious Municipality of Caldera. Cristhofer Ruz, Astrocaldera, Centaurus Astronomical Club and Astros del Desierto Foundation.

Vallenar: Rotonda Algarrobo. Monitor: Shirley Ramos, Provincial Museum of Huasco.

Andacollo: Plaza Gabriela Mistral. Monitor: Andrea Castillo, Dark Skies Protection Brigade, Northern Chile Astronomical Association Astronor.

Chicureo: Av. del Valle, in front of Clínica Alemana. Monitor: Tania Tadic, Candela Lighting.

Santiago – Las Condes: Estadio Español, Las Condes. Monitor: Francisco Besa, student at Adolfo Ibáñez University.

Santiago – Providencia: Plaza de la Alcaldesa, Los Leones with Bilbao. Monitor: Ximena Muñoz, Ciluz, Association of Lighting Professionals in Chile (API).

Santiago – Vitacura: Parque Bicentenario, in front of ILO. Monitor: Daniela González, Cielos de Chile Foundation.

Puerto Varas: Plaza de Armas of Puerto Varas. Monitor: M. Isabel Ortega, Board Member of the Association of Lighting Professionals in Chile (API).

When: October 17 at 7:30 PM.

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Glowatch Walks: Citizen inspections in 10 cities across the country aim to report cases of light pollution

nerb — Thu, 23 May 2024 01:18:00 +0000

On International Day of Light, groups of people interested in citizen science and the care of dark skies gathered in squares, universities, museums, and parks in 10 cities in Chile to report sources of light pollution through the Glowatch application.

On Wednesday, May 15 at seven in the evening, the “Glowatch Walks: observing our nocturnal environment” took place, organized jointly by the Fundación Cielos de Chile, Ciluz, the Center for Astrophysics and Related Technologies (CATA), and Lighting Detectives. The activity brought together 70 people at 14 meeting points across the country, in the cities of Antofagasta, Copiapó, La Serena, Santiago, Navidad, Concepción, Frutillar, Puerto Varas, Coyhaique, or Punta Arenas.

During the walks, people were able to learn about what light pollution is, which according to the Ministry of the Environment, is caused by wasted, unnecessary, or inappropriate light, generated by outdoor lighting, which impacts health and the lives of living beings.

Throughout the activity, attendees were able to report different cases of light pollution: by glare, poorly directed light, cold light, or intrusive light. All contributions were systematized in Glowatch, a citizen science tool that allows easy registration and reporting of light pollution sources through WhatsApp.

Light Walks

Around the Los Dominicos Metro in the Las Condes commune, José Utreras, researcher and content dissemination manager at the CATA Center, met with a group of people to explain how to use Glowatch and subsequently make reports in the area.

For José, the activity allowed participants to observe more consciously how the city is illuminated. “One becomes aware of how poorly lit everything is. Through the walk and being attentive to searching, one realizes several places that are sometimes overlooked where there is light that is really not contributing,” he pointed out.

Something similar happened in Antofagasta, says Juan Pablo Valenzano, project coordinator at the Fundación Cielos de Chile, who was a monitor for the walks in this city. At the Coloso Campus of the University of Antofagasta, he met –mostly– with members of the educational institution, who commented that they had never noticed lights within the campus that generate light pollution, despite frequenting these spaces.

“The participation of the group was quite proactive, making reports. These activities are of great importance, as they bring a problem that also affects them closer to the citizens, but is often invisible, inviting them to take action and seek solutions that arise from the same territories,” added Juan Pablo.

Ximena Muñoz, executive director of the Fundación Ciluz, was in charge of guiding a group of citizens through Plaza Ñuñoa and inviting them to question the design of the lighting in this public space. “Many participants did not know the issue of light pollution in detail. They were extremely enthusiastic about continuing to observe and report, which is great, because in the end, we are creating ambassadors of good light,” she concluded.

How to create your reports

To make a report, it is not necessary to wait for a next Glowatch Walk. You just need to go to Glowatch.cl and click on the WhatsApp icon available on the platform. From there, users can report cases of light pollution coming from, for example, billboards, spotlights, luminaires, among other sources, which due to their intensity, direction of light, or color, are negatively affecting people or natural environments. Additionally, on the web portal, they can access the complete and georeferenced database of all received reports.

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