Globe at Night: Light Pollution - How Light Affects the Night

 

 Globe at Night: How the Light Affects the Night

What is light pollution? It is light that goes where it's not needed. It's the light bubble you can see glowing over the city. It's the light that comes in your bedroom window at night and makes it hard to sleep. It's light that is harmful to humans and our environment. Most of all, it's a problem this is easy and cost effective to stop.

Galaxies and the Distant Universe: A Universe of Galaxies in Scale

International Year of Astronomy 2009

 Galaxies and the Distant Universe

A Universe in Galaxies in Scale

Our Solar System consists of our star, the Sun, and its orbiting planets, along with the numerous moons, asteroids, comet material, rocks, and dust. If we shrink the Sun down to smaller than a grain of sand, we can imagine our Solar System to be small enough to fit onto the palm of your hand. On that scale with our Solar System in your hand, the Milky Way Galaxy, with its 200 billion stars, would span North America.

David van Popering setting up telescope for observers 

at Custer Observatory- Southold, NY.