From stargazing to experiencing the Northern lights (Aurora Borealis), any traveller knows that the natural wonders produced in our night skies are at their most beautiful when the skies are pure black, free from light pollution.
Urbanisation has caused more people worldwide to lose their primal connection with nature. The brilliant river of stars known as the Milky Way that has dominated the night sky and human imaginations across the ages is no longer visible to one third of the Earth’s population and 80 percent of Americans.
A light pollution map recently published by the Journal of Science Advances has increased global interest in the negative effects of light pollution. People in many parts of the world today are unable to witness the true beauty of the Aurora Borealis and the dazzling stars in a dark night sky due to light pollution.
Recognising the Impact of Light Pollution
The US-based non-profit organisation International Dark-Sky Association (IDA) has made it their quest “to preserve and protect the night time environment and our heritage of dark skies through quality outdoor lighting.”
Earth Hour – a yearly event organised by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) – is another notable effort, encouraging people around the world to turn off non-essential lights and electronics for one hour (8:30pm-9:30pm) every March as a symbol of their commitment to the planet.
One of the most innovative anti-light pollution initiatives was the Lights Out Stars On campaign, which took place in Reykjavik in 2006, spearheaded by Icelandic writer and environmental activist Andri Snær Magnason.
The Reykjavik City Council approved Magnason’s proposal, which asked residents to turn off all the city lights in the capital for half an hour on September 28. That night, everyone in and around Reykjavik was able to catch a glimpse of the stunning Aurora Borealis and the shining stars, without the interference of light pollution.
Global electronics company LG was inspired by the worldwide effort to combat light pollution and has implemented its advanced OLED technology to help bring this important issue to greater public attention.
Just as the elimination of light pollution allowed the people of Reykjavik to see the beauty of the pure night sky, the perfect black of LG OLED TVs heightens contrast and allows for richer images.
Having eliminated backlight panels, OLED TV offers the purest black and the most accurate colour reproduction possible. This allows viewers to feel as if they are seeing the actual night sky, free of light pollution.
More recently, the Lights Out Stars On concert, held on July 20, 2016, began with a short introduction from Magnason (the driving force behind the 2006 black-out campaign in Reykjavik) and the project’s creative director Lewis Hilsenteger of Unbox Therapy (a YouTube star with five million subscribers).
Then, three high-profile Icelandic musicians, Ásgeir, GusGus and Ólafur Arnalds took the stage one by one and performed in front of a display, which featured 40 OLED screens and a combined 330,000,000 self-emitting OLED pixels. Displaying lifelike, immersive Aurora footage harmonised with the ambient music being produced onstage, LG’s OLED screens were instrumental in creating an unforgettable experience for the 1,000 guests in attendance.
The mind-blowing images of the Northern Lights used in the footage were captured on location in Iceland during the winter, the time of the year when the Aurora Borealis is most clearly visible.
Providing ultra-clear images of Iceland’s northern lights, wildlife, volcanic activity, glaciers, landscapes and more, the OLED TV Gallery at the Harpa Hall has also proven incredibly popular since opening to the public in July. Running until November 20, the exhibition uses the LG G6 OLED TVs to showcase brilliant 4K photographs taken by leading Icelandic photographers.
NASA representative Rodney P. Grubbs praised the event stating “I like the blending of an art and technology. These kinds of event can inspire people and remind people of the fragility of this rock that we call Earth that we are all sharing together.
“Technology is at its best when it enables people to have natural experiences that normally would require them to physically be somewhere,” said Lewis Hilsenteger of Unbox Therapy. “Most consumers may not necessarily know what they are missing when viewing content on old display technology; I noticed an immediate difference the moment I plugged OLED in. The superiority of OLED – particularly for content utilising darker colour palates – is immediately apparent.”
The Holy Grail of Display Technology
Because individual OLED pixels can emit light on their own, OLED TV is able to create the perfect shades of black and the infinite contrast ratio that are impossible with a backlight. OLED pixels emit the exact amount of light required, creating a strikingly crisp, smooth and clean picture that is pleasantly rich yet achieves convincingly subtle realism.
Even the most advanced LCD TVs are limited by their reliance on backlight panels, leading to the light bleeding and inconsistent colour rendering that makes them incapable of accurately depicting the Northern Lights. However, OLED TV requires no backlight, making it unlike any other television on the market.
