QUANTIFYING THE ALL TOO BRIGHT SKIES:

Last March there was an initiative to measure global light pollution by asking people to see which of the stars in the constellation of Orion that they could see. This was organized under the Globe at Night website, and it imitated previous efforts in Greece and Austria. This effort was an American one held under the direction of the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO). The Globe at Night site logged almost twice as many observations this year as it did in 2006.

This year the NOAO has attempted to put a more quantitative spin on their data. So far they have distributed hand held digital photometers that will give a more exact reading of the light intensity in various places. These have been distributed to teachers and students, amateur astronomers, science centres and museums in the USA, Mexico and Chile. The data from these sets has exceeded 800 inputs so far. There were 135 teams measuring light pollution under various conditions and locations. Go to the Globe at Night site for more information. To read more about this survey go to http://www.space.com/searchforlife/o70531_seti_globe_night.html

In passing it should be noted that the Czech Republic was the first government to legislate national legislation aimed at eliminating light pollution back in 2002. This mandates measures such as shielded light fixtures that not shine above the horizon.

JOIN THE GLOBAL STAR PARTY:

Next week a "Global star party" sponsored by the Globe at Night website kicks off. Running from March 8th to March 21, this is an attempt at assessing global 'light pollution'. Last year over 90,000 people in 96 countries participated. Basically you will be asked to go outside and observe the constellation Orion- pictured to the left (More on Orion in a future Molly's Blog)- and judge the magnitude of the stars in that group with a scale provided by the Globe at Night site. Various communities across the world are trying to do something about the light pollution that dims the view of the night sky for their residents. The measures are almost always energy conservation measures as well. To learn more about these efforts go to the International Dark Sky Association site. Do your part to help build an assessment of how much you are being deprived of the view that is your birthright.

Molly