Can You See the Stars? Participate in this Citizen Science World Wide Event!!

The Custer Observatory in Southold will be participating in the "Globe @Night" world wide event. 

Globe at Night is an annual citizen-science campaign that encourages people all over the world to record the brightness of their night sky. For two weeks every March, when the Moon is not out during the early evening and the constellation of Orion can be seen by everyone everywhere, children and adults match the appearance of Orion with 7 star maps of progressively fainter stars found on the website, www.globeatnight.org. They then submit their measurements (e.g., which star map they chose) on-line with their date, time and location.

GLOBE at Night 2011 Campaign dates announced

• February 21 – March 6, 2011, Northern and Southern Hemispheres
• March 22 – April 4, 2011, Northern Hemisphere
• March 24 – April 6, 2011, Southern Hemisphere

Lights at night can impact both the biology and ecology of species in the wild. Some examples include:

• the disorientation of sea turtle hatchlings by beachfront lighting
• nesting choices and breeding success of birds
• behavioral and physiological changes in salamanders
• disturbances of nocturnal animals
• altered natural light regimes in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems

Families are encouraged to participate with their children in a global campaign to observe and record the magnitude of visible stars as a means of measuring light pollution in a given location. Globe @ Night is an easy observation and reporting activity that takes approximately 15-30 minutes to complete with your student and/or other members of your family. 

 

Flashlight represents our street lights that cause light pollution when light is emitted in the areas that are not needed.

Example of same flashlight where the light emitted is directed to the areas where it is needed and shielded to the areas it is not.

 
Go to Globe @ Night Website for more information about this event: www.globeatnight.org/


Visit www.custerobservatory.org for more information about our programs and directions!