presentation: the globe at night campaign and the dark skies
TRANSCRIPT
Connie Walker National Optical Astronomy Observatory
on behalf of the Dark Skies team at NOAO
The GLOBE at Night Campaign and the
Dark Skies Rangers Program
Shedding Light on Light Pollution:
Light pollution is a global issue with local solutions…
How to bring awareness & a desire to slow down the
increase in light pollution?
(Cinzano, Falchi, and Elvidge 2001)
Energy, Safety & Cost
Human Health Wildlife
Light Pollution affects…
Astronomical Research
GLOBE at Night http://www.globeatnight.org
• Citizen-scientists record the brightness of the night sky by matching the appearance of a constellation like Orion with star maps of progressively fainter stars.
• Measurements are submitted on-line and resulting maps of all worldwide observations are created.
• Over the last 6 years of two-week GLOBE at Night campaigns, 66,000 measurements have been contributed from over 115 countries.
GLOBE at Night 2 Ways to Participate
The “classic” GLOBE at Night has citizen-scientists observing a constellation like Orion to measure light pollution.
The “digital” GLOBE at Night has citizen-scientists use meters to obtain more precise measurements of the night sky brightness.
http://www.globeatnight.org
GLOBE at Night Website http://www.globeatnight.org
5 step citizen science program – simple to participate
Background information on key concepts
Interactive games Fun quizzes to check proficiency Teacher and Family Guides in 16
different languages Postcards, flyers en español
también! Report page Map page with data in various
formats
Steps to Observe (unaided eye observations)
• Step #1. Find the constellation; note sky conditions
• Step #2. Match night sky to a magnitude chart
• Step #3. Report your obser- vations on-line
• Step #4. Input your latitude and longitude
• Step #5. Compare your observations to thousands around the world
http://www.globeatnight.org/observe.html
No Orion data
Match Night Sky to a Magnitude Chart. Estimate cloud coverage. Input location, date & time.
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Simple Report Form
Date and Time
Orion data
and SQM data
Location
Cloudiness
Tablet/Pad Cell
Phone
Desktop/ Laptop
http://www.globeatnight.org/report.html
GLOBE at Night http://www.globeatnight.org
Activities
• Explorer - Light Shielding Demo - Spectra of Lights - School Outdoor Lighting Audit - Student Symposium
• Protector - Turtle Hatching Activity - Wildlife Activity (Insects)
• Advocate - Magnitude Reader - Finding Orion, Cygnus, etc. - GLOBE at Night campaign
Ranger
Dark Skies Rangers Activities www.darkskiesawareness.org/DarkSkiesRangers/
grade levels
overview
purpose
science standards
objectives
time involved
materials and tools
preparation/prerequisites
background information
lesson sequence
student worksheets
extensions
questions
integrations
teacher resources
• The 8 activities include:
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Dark Skies Education Kit Contents
• Materials for a light shielding demonstration
• 1 Sky Quality Meter (to measure night sky brightness)
• Dark Skies Rangers and GLOBE at Night resources and activities on 1 CD and 2 DVDs
• Children’s Book: “There Once was a Sky Full of Stars”
• Advertising materials
• Ancillary materials
Dark Skies Education Kit Light Shielding Demo
Simulates a night time scene using
- A small city map
- A portable planetarium to project stars on the ceiling
- A simulated streetlight
- Backdrop from “There Once Was a Sky Full of Stars”
Dark Skies Education Kit Light Shielding Demo
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3 Types of Light Pollution
• Glare - Too much background light - Reduces visibility
• Light Trespass - Light spills into an area where it
is unneeded and/or unwanted
• Sky Glow - Upward directed light reflects
off of particles in the sky reducing visibility of stars
By Using Shielded Fixtures
You…
• Shine the light down.
• See the effect, not the source.
• Light only where and when needed.
• Don’t over light.
• Use energy efficient sources.
And therefore…
• Minimize glare, light directed upward, energy use & cost
• Maximize safety and your ability to enjoy the stars.
Concentrating on Energy www.darkskiesawareness.org/DarkSkiesRangers/
• Characterizing Lights - Use the diffraction gratings & spectroscopes to
examine different types of lights. - Discuss which are and are not energy efficient.
• School or Home Outdoor Lighting Audit An activity to audit the outdoor lighting around a home or school building to evaluate the energy efficiency & provide better solutions
Compact Fluorescent Incandescent Halogen
School Outdoor Lighting Audit
• Learn vocabulary.
• Choose building(s) on campus.
• Identify types of lights, wattage, whether shielded.
• Take inventory.
• Calculate energy consumption.
• Design improved lighting plan.
Goal: to learn to light responsibly and reduce light pollution
An Example of Bad & Good Lighting
Student Symposium
• Students plan, conduct and film a symposium.
• GOAL: to educate others about light pollution and the dangers it poses.
• interview people of different professions. How does light pollution affect that profession?
• research solutions.
• write a script based on their findings.
• produce a video in which they will present their research in a symposium style.
• place video on TeacherTube (or YouTube).
Wildlife Activities
• “The Night You Hatched” An activity where students role play sea turtles and experience the effect of light pollution as they try to make it to the ocean after hatching
• “Do They See the Light?” An activity on how light pollution affects insects
Preparing for GLOBE at Night
“Constellation at Your Fingertips”
An activity with glow-in-the-dark puffy paints on transparencies (& a UV light) to visualize the constellation, Orion (or Cygnus), at night
“How Light Pollution Affects the Stars” (Magnitude Reader)
An activity on how many stars are lost due to light pollution, and the concept of stellar magnitudes and limiting magnitudes
Educational Value GLOBE at Night Data
With the downloadable data sets, Compare data over time
Compare to data on population density
Compare with photography or spectroscopy
Use in a lighting survey
Search for dark sky oases
Monitor ordinance compliance
Study effects of light pollution on - human health, animals or plants - safety, security, energy consumption,
cost Tucson, Arizona
A School District Campaign: Near South Bend, Indiana
City-Wide Lighting Inventory Norman, Oklahoma
1 km
N
GLOBE at Night Data with Bat Telemetry
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Dark Skies Education Program What's New?
The capability to receive all GaN data submissions An on-line community with Facebook and Twitter A web application to submit GaN data using mobile devices A on-line map application to map GaN data for any location Two campaigns in 2011 new materials: translations, on-line
interactive tools, star charts, other resources for two new constellations (Leo and Crux)
• Adopt-A-Street Program (great coverage of Tucson) • On-line video tutorials of DSR activities • External data sets for research comparisons • A research student last 2 summers to study whether
lesser long nose bats are affected by light pollution • A new partnership: Sahuaro Girl Scout Council
GLOBE at Night 2013
We hope you will choose starlight over "our light" by choosing to light responsibly and by joining the 2013 GLOBE at Night campaign.
January 3 - 12 January 31 - February 9 March 3 - 12 March 31 - April 9 April 29 - May 8
Websites of interest: www.globeatnight.org www.globeatnight.org/dsr/ www.darksky.org
Thank-you for your kind attention!
GLOBE at Night outreach event organized by Joan Chamberlin (a teacher from Maine) visiting students
in Nepal (March 2011)
Students and Advisor from Clube Ciencias Alunos (Portugal) participate in GLOBE at
Night 2011.
Connie Walker • Dark Skies Rangers Program &
GLOBE at Night Program Director
• 1-520-318-8535 or
Contact Information
Sponsoring Institutions
GLOBE at Night (www.globeatnight.org) has been a collaboration between
the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) in Tucson, AZ;
The Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) Program, in Boulder, CO;
the Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc. (ESRI) in Redlands, CA;
the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA) in Tucson, AZ; and
the Centro de Apoyo a la Didactica de la Astronomia (CADIAS) in Altovalsol, Chile.
Other partners have included the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, the American Astronomical Society, the Astronomical League, Astronomers Without Borders, The World At Night, and Let There Be Night,org.