Restoring the Milky Way: Arts alumnus develops app to reduce light pollution 

On a clear night, the sky over Paynes Prairie should be dense with stars.  
 
Winter months offer the sharpest view of Orion the Hunter, identifiable to casual stargazers by the three brilliant stars of his belt. The Orion Nebula, a star nursery located in the sword blade at his hip, may appear dim and gauzy to the naked eye, but against an undiluted inky sky, its cluster of newborn stars blooms into sharper focus with the help of binoculars. Through the lens of a telescope, the view can be euphoric.  
 
Summertime is peak viewing season for the Milky Way spilling over the prairie wetlands’ bald cypress and swamp tupelo; its stretches of savannah, longleaf pine sandhills and oak hammocks. On moonless nights, even the publicly-accessible viewing areas along U.S. 441 can offer breathtaking glimpses of the galaxy swirling overhead — or at least they used to.  
 
In recent years, stargazers like University of Florida College of the Arts alumnus Jay Rosen (BFA, ‘13), have observed the prairie’s celestial skyscape steadily fade from view and be replaced by a hazy yellow glow — a byproduct of the artificial light emanating from Gainesville.

Rosen is an application programmer at the College of Education who specializes in AI and XR software development. After dusk, he’s an avid astrophotographer.  
 
“When I’m out taking Milky Way photos, I’ve noticed that near Gainesville, the sky is yellow — even at Payne’s Prairie, where it should be dark. I have to drive to Dark Sky sites in Georgia or Chiefland that don’t have light pollution,” Rosen says. “It’s sad. We have this really beautiful landscape at Paynes Prairie, but you can’t even see the stars. You have to go far away to experience the natural sky.”  
 
When Rosen learned that the Alachua County Environmental Protection Committee (EPAC) was considering incorporating a dark sky initiative, he saw an opportunity to combine his drawing degree, his background in programming and artificial intelligence and his astrophotography to assist the committee.  
 
“How can I use my photography, which is essentially proprietary data, to analyze the light pollution in different cities in Florida?” he mused.  “And how can I help figure out the economic impact and determine what [Dark Sky policies] could potentially do for our town as a large-scale urban planning tool?”  

Artist, app developer, astrophotographer, environmental policy driver

Rosen did not initially set out to become a citizen scientist. His BFA concentration in the School of Art + Art History was in drawing, and while in the University Scholars Program, he did independent study in light installation art. His artistic practice throughout the following decade prioritized light as a medium: mirror-based installations, projections, immersive visual experiences. Over time, he began to explore software development and AR/VR design.   
 
His astrophotography hobby began when he purchased a long-range camera to photograph amputee athletes competing in the 2020 Paralympics in Tokyo.  
 
“Everything shut down because of the pandemic. The only thing I could really photograph was the moon, so I started photographing the moon,” Rosen recalls.   
 
Soon, he was capturing the planet Jupiter and taking long-exposure photographs of the Andromeda Galaxy. But as Rosen’s hobby grew, so did the distance he needed to travel away from Gainesville to access natural dark skies. 

In 2025, Rosen gathered satellite imagery captured by NOAA from 2012 to 2024. Using artificial intelligence to analyze the imagery, he calculated a stunning 19% increase in light pollution in Alachua County during that timeframe. Paynes Prairie, which saw a 15% uptick in light pollution, currently registers around Class 4-5, on the nine-level Bortle Scale used to quantify night sky brightness.   
 
A Bortle Scale Class 4 location is classified as Rural Suburban Transition. When a location reaches Class 5, it becomes a Suburban Sky, where the Milky Way is almost entirely washed out by light pollution from every direction.  
 
Reaching beyond his aesthetic frustrations over sky glow blotting out the stars, Rosen dug deeper to understand the effects of light pollution on human health and wildlife, and what other municipalities are doing to mitigate its impacts. Utilizing an AI tool, Google NotebookLM, accelerated his research by helping him compile over 200 research articles into a comprehensive database. 

It quickly became clear to Rosen that light pollution is not merely a visibility issue for stargazers.   
 
Exposure to excessive artificial light, particularly blue light, can disrupt human circadian rhythms, affecting sleep and overall health. For wildlife, the consequences can be even more severe. Nocturnal species like fireflies, frogs and moths rely on darkness for survival, while migratory birds, many of which travel at night, can become disoriented by bright urban environments.  
 
The deleterious impact of light pollution affects livestock, too.  
 
“Beef cattle, for instance, are known to have lower weight production by as much as 10 to 15 percent because of Artificial Light at Night (ALAN). Same with horse breeding, which, right next door in Marion County, is a roughly $4 billion industry. All these things affect much more than just our little town. It actually affects the whole state of Florida,” Rosen says.  

Alachua Dark Sky Simulator illuminates impacts and mitigation solutions

Rosen approached the question of how to present the data the way an artist might: through visualization and hands-on interaction. To do this, he developed the web-based Alachua Dark Sky Simulator, an interactive tool that lets users explore how different lighting strategies affect the night sky, energy usage and long-term costs and savings.  
 
“I basically tried to make a video game. That way, it’s approachable and actually quite simple. All these things are explained through the app by just clicking the info buttons,” Rosen says.   
 
With a few clicks, users can simulate the impact of shielding streetlights, setting light curfew timers or adjusting color temperature, and watch the stars gradually reappear as municipal energy costs decrease.   
 
Urban light mitigation strategies intersect with questions about public safety, but Rosen says the research is promising.  

“One pushback I got when I presented to the committee was the question: do dark sky policies create more crime in environments where they are implemented?” Rosen says.   
 
“The research shows that it does the opposite. When all the lighting is lower, our eyes adapt better; there’s more visibility. And if lights are time-controlled and motion-sensitive, then if someone is trying to lurk around, the lights will turn on, making them much more noticeable as opposed to a parking lot full of lights that are always on.”  
 
One of the most compelling aspects of Rosen’s Dark Sky Simulator is its ability to illustrate just how much Milky Way visibility Alachua County could regain — potentially even transforming the region into one of the only places in Florida for astrotourism.   
 
“The Bortle Scale map uses colors: pink shows areas where there’s really bright light, and blue shows rural towns and dark skies. As you use the mitigation controls, you’ll see Alachua County change colors. There’s also a simulation of the night sky, so you can actually see the Milky Way start to appear at Payne’s Prairie,” Rosen explains.  
 

The Alachua Night Sky Simulator indicates that with effective light mitigation measures, Paynes Prairie could scale down from a Bortle Class 4-5 to a Class 3 Rural location, or even a Class 2 — a true Dark Sky site where the full structure of the Milky Way becomes visible, even to the naked eye.  
 
“Economically, there are dark sky incentives like astrotourism that can boost the economy — especially since UF is home to the Astraeus Space Institute. Right now, you have to go to Rosemary Hill Observatory, which is [about 30 miles] away from UF. With dark sky policies implemented, it would be possible to create an observation area right here in Payne’s Prairie,” Rosen says.  

“The Dark Sky Simulator projects that Alachua County could save an estimated $1.9 million in annual savings — all while improving the condition of our skies and our environment,” he adds.

After presenting his research and simulation tools to the county’s Environmental Protection Advisory Committee in January, Rosen saw his work translate into action. The committee voted unanimously to support the incorporation of dark sky principles into the Alachua County Comprehensive Plan and is currently moving through the adoption cycle.   
 

The plan is designed as a phased rollout, beginning with new developments and expanding over time, alongside public education efforts and community engagement.  

Bringing dark skies to campus for the Gator good 

“I like to imagine that someday, maybe even five years from now, anyone on the University of Florida campus could look up at the night sky and see the Milky Way,” Rosen says. “It’s my hope that UF students can be inspired about science and discovery just by being able to see the universe right above them. These goals, I think, are very possible.”  
 
While the University of Florida is governed by the State of Florida, and thus not formally beholden to dark sky policies being developed by Alachua County, Rosen is optimistic the university will keep its eye to the sky as UF’s footprint grows in Gainesville and throughout Florida.  
 
By aligning, where possible, with the county’s emerging dark sky policy efforts, “the University of Florida would be not only protecting but also enhancing their scientific research,” Rosen says.  

 “It will help researchers in IFAS, in the Space Institute, in Engineering and other areas do their research. It will help future students be able to simply observe the night sky. It’ll really be showing that UF cares about the environment. And as a land-grant university, it demonstrates how committed the University of Florida is to protecting Florida, and to improving the state’s economic benefits.”  

The College of the Arts is just one area on campus committed to tamping out light pollution. When the long-awaited School of Music renovation and expansion project breaks ground later this year, dark sky building design will be a core element. 
 
“Located in the very center of campus, the expanded School of Music Building honors the university’s commitment to a dark sky strategy for exterior lighting,” says Bora Architecture & Interiors Principal, Amy Donohue.   
 
“With low lighting directed away from the sky, as well as warm color temperatures, the building illumination will not interrupt nocturnal species as they navigate the Gainesville skies. In addition to protecting animal life and habitats, UF students living in nearby residence halls will sleep better under a darker sky, rested and ready to learn,” she adds.   
 
“You know,” Rosen muses, “I did not think that my disgruntlement about the sky being yellow would have such an effect. I took action by using my photography as scientific evidence. I took my skills with AI and software development and art, and fused all those together, but I didn’t initially expect to create legislative impact. But now it’s happening, and I hope it will benefit our town.” 
 
A future feels in reach, now, in which Gators will be able to observe and contemplate the boundless universe that sprawls above The Swamp, simply by looking up.  

April is Global Astronomy Month and International Dark Sky Week 2026 takes place April 13-20. 
 
Rosen will present his light pollution research to the public at the Kika Silva Planetarium at Santa Fe College on April 14, from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. as part of the Alachua Astronomy Club’s monthly meeting. The event is free and open to the public, but seating is limited. Please register here.

• Try out the Alachua Dark Sky Simulator
• View Rosen’s EPAC presentation: Preserving Natural Skies in Alachua County: Light Pollution Mitigation and Economic Impact
• Follow @astro.aperture on Instagram to view more of Rosen’s astrophotography