New Zealanders hoping to wish upon a star are unlikely to ever get the luxury.

New figures show that more than half of the country can't see the milky way anymore because of light pollution in cities.

Director of Otago Museum and astronomer Ian Griffin told Heather du Plessis-Allan says that there are small ways we can rectify the issue, including designing street lamps to point down to the ground.

“The more light that goes down, the safer the street. There’s really no point in illuminating the universe because the light that goes up is not doing anything for anyone.”

LISTEN TO IAN GRIFFIN TALK WITH HEATHER DU PLESSIS-ALLAN ABOVE