NYRA Tech Corporation Redesigns Free Light Pollution Map to Make Stargazing Simple for Everyone

DALLAS - Aug. 31, 2026 - PRLog -- DALLAS, Texas: NYRA Tech Corporation today released a redesigned version of its free Light Pollution Map. NYRA Tech's mission is to make stargazing simple for everyone, removing the complexity that usually comes with it.

Most newer public light pollution maps show raw data and charts made for people who already know how to read them. NYRA Tech's map takes a different approach. It keeps the same depth of information but presents it simply enough for anyone to understand at a glance, leaning toward education rather than raw data.

The redesign took months of work. The team simplified the interface and rebuilt it from the ground up so it works as well on a phone in the field as it does on a desktop at home.

The map now includes year-by-year historical sky brightness data. Users can tap a location and see how its night sky has changed across multiple years of satellite measurement, shown on an interactive chart with a full reading for each year.

Each reading is broken into three parts: a plain-English summary, the raw measurement, and the year-over-year trend. Every technical term is explained in plain language.

The map is built for astrophotographers planning a shoot, educators teaching about light pollution, and conservation advocates and researchers who need historical evidence for lighting policy. It's free for everyone, no account required.

NYRA Tech built the map as a public resource, not just a product feature. Light pollution disrupts bird migration and insect populations, affects human sleep and health, and wastes energy lighting nothing but the sky.

"We could have put this behind a signup wall," the founder and CEO said. "The point is for people to look at the sky above their own home and understand what has happened to it. That only works if it's free."

The map runs on infrastructure NYRA Tech built and hosts itself: PostgreSQL and PostGIS for the spatial database, GeoServer for map tiles, and a self-hosted OpenStreetMap database for location search. Satellite data from NASA's VIIRS instrument is processed into sky brightness values, with SQM readings and Bortle class computed for any coordinate. The map was developed in collaboration with light pollution researchers.

The map is free, at https://app.bortlebuddy.com/lightpollutionmap

The update comes as The company's flagship product, the BortleBuddy™ stargazing app, stays on track for its private beta release, opening to selective users across the world. The app will open first to experienced astrophotographers before a wider public release. NYRA Tech has filed a patent for the underlying technology.

To request early access to the BortleBuddy beta, visit https://bortlebuddy.com or https://app.bortlebuddy.com/lightpollutionmap