Globe at Night poster
as displayed at the June
2006 AAS meeting
|
More
than 18,000 citizen-scientists in 96 countries submitted
4,591 observations of the darkness of their local night
skies during the 10-day GLOBE at Night event last month.
The GLOBE at Night Web site received data from all 50
U.S. states and from every continent except Antarctica (where
the constellation used for the project was not visible!)
At least 399 of the participants were under age 12, with
another 949 between the ages of 12-14 years old.
“The geographic reach of the GLOBE at Night program
exceeded our wildest expectations,” said Connie Walker,
an astronomer and science education specialist at the
National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO), one of
the event’s major co-sponsors.
Conducted during March 22-31, 2006, the international
GLOBE at Night program was designed to help students,
families, and the general public observe and record how
the constellation Orion looked from different locations,
as a means of measuring the brightness of the sky at a
variety of urban and rural sites. The program was
designed to aid teaching about the impact of artificial
lighting on local environments, and the ongoing loss of
a dark night sky as a natural resource for much of the
world’s population.
“We fell a few hundred short of our target of 5,000
total observations, but the engagement and excitement of
large family groups, and dozens of school children
participating in the activity together, more than make
up for a few less data points,” Walker said.
Participation was open to anyone—anywhere in the world—who
could get outside and look skyward in the early evening.
Observers reported their results online by comparing the
number of stars they could see in Orion with a set of
template images on the program’s Web site, which showed
the number of stars in the constellation for a range of
visibilities from bright skies to very dark.
At least 18,084 people participated in the program,
according to self-reporting forms on the GLOBE at Night
Web site. “This number was likely much larger, given
that our form gave an option only for ‘more than 25
people’ and we’ve heard reports of individual events
with 50 participants or more,” said Kirsten Meymaris,
the GLOBE at Night Project Coordinator. More than 750
people have signed up to receive updates via the
program’s electronic mailing list.
“Truly innovative and a real eye opener for many of my
young students,” was a typical comment from one teacher
who conducted the program.
Scientific analysis of the GLOBE at Night data set has
begun, including cooperation with experts in analysis of
worldwide satellite data related to artificial lighting.
Initial results will be reported at upcoming meetings of
the American Geophysical Union and the American
Astronomical Society.
Preliminary mapped results can be explored individually
using the GLOBE at Night Map Viewer, built with support
from ESRI. A student exploration Guide for the Map
Viewer and other ESRI mapping tools will be available
soon at this Web page for directed investigations of the
GLOBE at Night data.
“The observations made during GLOBE at Night will help
students and scientists together assess how the quality
of the night sky varies around the world, and how it is
affected by artificial lighting and light pollution from
poor lighting fixtures,” said Stephen Pompea, astronomer
and manager of science education at NOAO. “Given the
widespread interest in the inaugural GLOBE at Night
event, we are eager to offer it again in 2007.”
For more information, see the program’s Web page or
contact globeatnight@globe.gov or outreach@noao.edu.
GLOBE at Night is a collaboration between The GLOBE
Program in Fort Collins, CO; the National Optical
Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) in Tucson, AZ; Centro de
Apoyo a la Didactica de la Astronomia (CADIAS) in Chile;
Windows to the Universe; and Environmental Systems
Research Institute, Inc. (ESRI).
The National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO)
consists of Kitt Peak National Observatory near Tucson,
AZ; Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory near La
Serena, Chile; and, the NOAO Gemini Science Center, the
route for U.S. astronomers to observe with the Gemini
North telescope in Hawaii and the Gemini South telescope
in Chile. NOAO is operated by the Association of
Universities for Research in Astronomy Inc. (AURA),
under a cooperative agreement with the National Science
Foundation.
GLOBE AT NIGHT WEB SITE
More information...> |
