It’s star-counting time, again! Since 2007, the Great Worldwide Star Count has encouraged citizens all across the world to count the stars in their night sky, to raise awareness about light pollution and foster greater astronomy learning.
Participating in this international citizen science event really is as simple as counting stars. The GWSC website provides everything you need, including printable star charts, user-friendly report forms, and fun activity guides. You don’t even need dark skies, because the whole idea is to record the impact of excessive and poorly-directed nighttime lighting!
This year, the Worldwide Star Count takes place from October 29 through November 12, giving participants a full two weeks to get their counts in. You can even contribute additional reports, from various locations. Last year, I completed two observations – one from my own yard and another from town. The difference was astounding and really illustrated the loss of our night sky.
Visit the Great Worldwide Star Count website to learn more about participating in the star count, and check out my Turn Down, Reach Out, and Look Up post to learn more about the growing impact of light pollution. You might also be interested in the Science for Citizens website, which features dozens of fun citizen science opportunities.
*If you’re on Twitter, be sure to share your observations with the #StarCount2010 hashtag! (if you are aware of a different hashtag already in use, please give us a tweet at @askyfullofstars)
*UPDATE: There is a very slight possibility that the northern hemisphere target for this year’s star count, constellation Cygnus, may surprise observers with meteors from the recent near-Earth pass of comet 103P/Hartley 2, on the nights of November 2 and November 3!
