Globe at Night

Looking up at the sky from any major city is a disheartening experience. Gone are the starry treasures of the night sky, hidden from view by the glow of so many artificial light sources. Disheartening also is to realize that so much of that light pollution is completely unnecessary. There are many negative effects of light pollution... Untold billions of dollars of wasted electricity, deleterious heath effects for both our environment and in humans. Then there is the tragic loss of the beautiful night sky for the majority of our population.

Many of those fixtures throw light and wasted electricity into the sky simply because people do not think about the consequences. Some outdoor lights are useful, but so many could be turned off or replaced with better fixtures, giving everyone back a darker sky.

Education is the key in key in preventing light pollution, getting people to realize they can do something. Installing properly designed light fixtures that direct the light down, not up. Or just simply turning it off when not needed. Light pollution is unusual among the many issues that face us today, it does not usually cost more money to fix, money can normally be saved through preventing the problem.

A great way to educate people on the issue is to simply get them to look up. It is really pretty simple to measure just how bright the night sky is in any given location. It does not take any sort of sophisticated equipment to make a basic measurement. The Globe at Night project shows you how to do just that, find out how bright your skies are.

Running from now until March 16th, you can report your information for inclusion in a world wide database measuring the effects of light pollution across the globe. Just learn how at the Globe at Night website. Once you measure how dark your skies are, go the simple web form and enter your observation. You can also check the map and compare your data to all of the other observations that have been entered by participants across the globe.

The effort is organized by Connie Walker, education specialist at the National Optical Astronomy Observatory. Years past I worked with her on outreach efforts in Tucson, including a great program called project ASTRO that teams professional and amateur astronomers with local teachers.

Give it a try! Print out the forms, step outside and look up. How dark is your sky?