Help To Map Light Pollution

jcgam69 writes "October 1 marked the first day of the Great Worldwide Star Count, a half-month citizen science project that will harness thousands of observers across the globe to help map light pollution."

Comments

Here ya go:

[Tablizer]

http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/image/earth_night.jpg

Done.

Re:Here ya go:

[Cassius Corodes]

That is totally a web 1.0 solution. What we are looking for is a web 2.0 solution - we need to harness the dynamics of social groups to create solutions for the 21 century. Either that or just waste time.

Re:Here ya go:

[Puff of Logic]

That is totally a web 1.0 solution. What we are looking for is a web 2.0 solution - we need to harness the dynamics of social groups to create solutions for the 21 century. Either that or just waste time. Is that the part where we leverage a synergy, or is that Web 1.0?

Re:Here ya go:

[omeomi]

Now I do my part: I live in Hong Kong and the only star I could see all these years is that red dot behind the moon, probably Mars.

You can see behind the moon from Hong Kong?

Re:Here ya go:

[LynnwoodRooster]

Duh, everyone KNOWS that China's on the opposite side of the earth! Thus you see the opposite side of the moon, too...

Geez, the level of basic science knowledge here at /. is downright scary...

Support the idea but .....

[pauljuno]

As an amateur astronomer I always support these efforts, not so much because they truly add a lot of value as the potential PR they generate. I live in an extremely urban area and can only see planets and the very brightest stars. And the problem is that we tend to generate a lot of light pollution that is a waste. We don't just illuminate the areas that needs it, but throw off a lot of light pollution because our lights are not focused on the needed area. It's like the standard light in your house, you turn it on and it throws light everywhere even though you just needed it to read a book, it's a waste. I'm not a green fanatic, but it just makes economic sense to try and reduce and eliminate waste where it exists .... plus I really miss seeing the Milky Way.

Re:Seems Like a Cool Idea

[Phroon]

But can't we just view how much light there is in space from satellite photos and guess what the light pollution would be (like in http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/archive/8/86/20040921144929!Usa_night.gif)?

We can. In fact, it's been done. This isn't the real goal of the project, though:

"This Windows to the Universe Citizen Science Event is designed to encourage learning in astronomy!"

They're trying to increase awareness of astronomy and the detrimental effects of light pollution. If it just gets people aware it's worth it. I might just do it myself so I have a measure of how much light pollution there really is in my backyard.

Re:Hey, don't ask me

[clarkkent09]

I live in Las Vegas. On a clear night I can see the Moon

Re:In My Area...

[forkazoo]

In my area it's either light pollution or crime. Having been the victim of a couple of car break-ins because we didn't have the outside lights on, I choose light pollution.

It's either that or armed guards, and electric is cheaper.

Considering a lot of light pollution is mostly a matter of inefficiency... Since you think it's a choice between light pollution and crime, I have to assume that you think that shooting vast amount of light into the sky somehow feeds the moon god, who in turn stops crime out of gratitude.

Seriously, a big part of the problem is with street lights that don't point all of there light toward the ground. Sure, a really well lit ground will bounce some light back up, but some lights literally just shine right up into the sky.

Also, in many cases excessively bright lights are used, which results in pools of blinding brilliance with pools of pitch black between them. In that case, the solution to make people feel safer is not to make the light brighter, but more even (and possibly dimmer) so that you can't hide in the harsh shadows.

North of Monument Valley

[stefanlasiewski]

Start at Kayenta Arizona, which is the largest town in the Navajo Nation, and functions as a regional capitol, of sort.

Bring a good car, several maps, one map which shows BLM Land. camping supplies, plenty of gas, food and water. You'll be in the middle of nowhere, so always make sure you have enough gas.

Head North on Highway 261, go through Monument Valley, head towards Natural Bridges National Monument. Monument Valley is one of the most famous places in the world, yet you can stand on the side of the road without seeing anyone for 30 minutes.

Drive 4000-feet up the side of a cliff on a crazy curvy old Uranium Road. This area is called the 'Gooseneck State Park. When you get to the top, stop and look back south over the valley--- you can see quite far.

Head north until you leave Gooseneck. This is BLM land. You can drive on any road, find a nice spot and camp. Wait until the nighttime, and check out the stars.

This is one of the most remote places in the US-- millions of stars. I remember it being so dark, and the stars were so bright that I could see faint shadows from the starlight.