Monitoring the Level of Light Pollution and Its Impact on Astronomical Bodies Naked-Eye Visibility Range in Selected Areas in Malaysia Using the Sky Quality Meter

Light pollution is an anthropogenic by-product of modern civilization and heavy economical activity, sourced from artificial light. In addition of its detrimental impact on human, and ecology, light pollution brightens the night sky, limiting the range of visible astronomical bodies detected by naked-eye. Since it is becoming a global concern for astronomers, the level of light pollution needs to be monitored to study its mark on the astronomical data. Using Sky Quality Meter in the period of 5 months, we investigated the links between city population and its vicinity from the city center towards the profile of the night sky and the limiting magnitude of the naked eye. We eliminate the data factored by clouds and moon brightness on account of it has an adverse effect on sky brightness that could disrupt research on light pollution. From the result, we can see population and location distance from the city as major variables of light pollution, as Kuala Lumpur, a city center sky is 5 times brighter than Teluk Kemang, a suburban sky. Some recommendations in reducing the effect of light pollution will be also discussed.