Reply To: Message from NBC news – are our skies becoming more ‘starry?’

I wonder whether the impression of the sky looking more start was a consequence of three bright planets being on view during the evenings? My initial impression of the night sky being clear is always stronger when I am looking towards Orion and Sirius than when I am looking towards blander constellations such as Cetus or Hydra.
Over the years, my impression has been that daytime blue skies have more milky, presumably due to an increase in aircraft contrails that gradually spread out. A notable exception being in the early weeks of lockdown in 2020 when there were few aircraft flying.
In contrast, during runs of clear nights, haze seems to be less of a problem than it was 40 years ago. Then, I could get a couple of useable nights before the haze became too bad. Nowadays, this happens much less often. Maybe due to a reduction in air pollution?