International Day of Light
16 May 2026 — One spark meets a prism and becomes a rainbow. Light is for everyone!
The International Day of Light is observed every year on 16 May. The date commemorates 16 May 1960, when the American physicist Theodore Maiman operated the first working laser. The day, proclaimed by UNESCO in 2017, highlights the role of light in science, technology, culture, education and sustainable development. Around the world it is marked with lectures, exhibitions, experiments and light installations. Light is also the foundation of astronomy: everything we know about the stars reaches us as rays that have travelled for years, centuries or millions of years. When we look at the night sky, we see the past of the stars. With a prism or a spectroscope (an instrument that splits light into colours), astronomers learn what stars are made of and how fast they move. In this way, one thin beam tells the story of entire worlds. That is why it is worth stepping outside this evening and looking up.
Flying across the sky: An ethereal, bluish-silver star figure made of bright dots and fine lines, like a constellation: a single beam of light drifting across the night sky, passing through a glowing crystal prism outlined in star points and fanning out into a delicate rainbow arc of softly shimmering dots
Sources
Positions in Astronativa are astronomically exact. The interpretation is for inspiration. · Glossary · Terms · Privacy · Thank you