Its that time again – that two weeks of each year when the world looks up and counts stars!

The Great Worldwide Star Count is one of my favorite citizen-science events of the year.  Not only are individuals encouraged to look up, their compiled data offers a look at how light pollution is impacting dark skies around the world.  In fact, The Great Worldwide Star Count is featured as part of the Dark Skies Awareness Cornerstone Project for the International Year of Astronom2009!

Participating in the count is as simple (and fun) as looking up, counting stars, and reporting the results.  You can count stars on just one evening for one location, or you can count stars for several locations.  For those who want to be even more involved, there are printable handouts and extended activities.  There is even an Activity Guide, complete with instructions, charts, and reporting forms.

The Great Worldwide Star Count is a yearly Windows to the Universe Citizen-Science event.  You can visit their site to learn more about this event, download flyers and activity guides, and even get a little information about constellations and how scientists measure the brightness of stars.

In 2007, more than 6,000 people from 64 countries counted stars for this event.  Together, we can double the number of reports for this year.  So, grab your activity guides and get out there and count stars – tonight!  While you’re out there, take a few pictures and share them here.  We’ll include them in our follow-up report next month!