This week’s Look-Up report features a colorful sunset conjunction, the waxing gibbous Moon with Jupiter and Pleiades, and a word about light pollution! Click here for the full report, including graphics and links.
Archive for the ‘Light Pollution’ Category
The Sky Tonight: Aug 26 – Sept 1
Thursday, August 26th, 2010A Thief in the Night
Friday, June 25th, 2010As we are all learning, the ills of light pollution reach far beyond the night sky. Not only is our planet increasingly enshrouded beneath a cosmos-veiling opacity, light pollution is adversely affecting life, dirtying our atmosphere, and wasting many millions of dollars. Poorly-managed nighttime lighting has been directly linked to:
*Disruption and decline of many nocturnal plant and animal species
*Higher cancer rates in humans
*Auto accidents, many of them fatal
*Thousands of tons of carbon dioxide emissions
*Billions of dollars in wasted energy
There are many things you can do to help address the growing issue of light pollution, from updating to IDA-approved lighting, to raising awareness in your locale. This summer, McDonald Observatory will promote awareness through their StarDate radio program and summer workshops. They’ve also just released the following video, encouraging us all to turn down the lights and lock out that “thief of the night.”
Earth Hour 2010 – Together, We Can Make a Difference!
Thursday, March 25th, 2010Together, We Can Reduce the Effects of Climate Change
And Even Raise Awareness about Light Pollution!
Saturday, March 27, 830pm Local Time
Switch-Off Your Lights for Earth Hour 2010!
Visit EarthHour2010 to learn more
Follow the lights-out action on Twitter, here ** “Turn off the lights” on your Twitter avatar, here ** Add an Earth Hour twibbon to your Twitter avatar, here ** Participate in the Earth Hour Twitter conversation by including #EarthHour with your tweets.
Billions of Eyes are Waiting – for You!
Tuesday, March 16th, 2010What do Sun-Earth Day, the Spring Equinox, and International Sidewalk Astronomy Night have in common? In addition to recognizing our planet’s relationship to the cosmos, this year all three occur on March 20 and you can celebrate in one fun event!
International Sidewalk Astronomy Night:
“Billions of Eyes are waiting!”
It is with those words that John Dobson encourages all of us to share the night sky with others. On March 20, people all across the world are taking Dobson’s words to heart with the 4th Annual International Sidewalk Astronomy Night!
You don’t have to be an astronomer, or even own expensive equipment, to encourage others to Look Up – just take your knowledge, your binoculars, or your telescope to a public setting and share what you do know and have with others. It doesn’t even matter that public settings are typically not the darkest sites to observe. There’s plenty of wow-factor with the Moon, Venus, Mars, Saturn, and some of the brighter stars – especially if you take a moment to share some fun facts about each. Public settings also offer the perfect opportunity to talk about light pollution. You could even hand-out a few flyers about responsible lighting techniques to make your event more meaningful!
Whether you live in a small town or a big city – whether you’ve a telescope, a pair of binoculars, or even just your eyes – whether you share with one person or a hundred – the point is to get out there and encourage people to look up. Show them why you’re so excited about the night sky and why they should be too!
Sky Scouts: Setting an Example in Citizen Science
Thursday, March 11th, 2010Have you submitted your Globe at Night observation, yet? The U.K.’s 21st Purley Beaver Colony has!
Last weekend, I had the distinct pleasure and privilege of speaking with a group of young skywatching scouts from the U.K. About 25 people – children and parents – crowded into Croydon’s Norman Fisher Observatory in London, England, while scout leader, Paul Harper, connected all of us via skype chat. We couldn’t see each other, but I could hear the delightful (and delighted) voices of all the children as they described their views of the night sky and gave me their Globe at Night sky report.
I shall never forget the sounds of those young voices shouting out their observations. First came their Globe at Night report – a clear 4th magnitude sky from atop the 500′ plateau that is home to England’s RAF Kenley airfield, where the Norman Fisher Observatory resides. Then came their excited recollections of the sky. Sam remembered “the Great Bear” of Ursa Major; Ashley recalled Orion’s “Big Belt”; little three-year-old Miles saw the stars of Cassiopeia; and (impressively) eleven-year-old Christy explored Orion’s bow! And, of course, they all remembered bright orange Mars.
We’re Looking at (and counting) Stars!
Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010
Spring is just around the corner, and so, too, is that time when we get outside and count the stars!
How many stars can you see in your sky?
All across the world, one of the greatest frustrations for astronomers is light pollution. But did you know that light pollution affects more than our views of the night sky? Irresponsible outdoor lighting not only threatens dark skies, it has been linked to dramatic adverse effects on nocturnal wildlife and plants and serious behavioral disorders and physical diseases, including cancer, in humans. And, of course, we all know that irresponsible lighting wastes energy and our hard-earned dollars.
