5th Annual Globe at Night Campaign

Globe at Night, the annual 2-week campaign that helps to address the issue of light pollution is returning in less than a week! The loss of dark skies, caused by "light pollution," is a concern on many fronts: safety, energy conservation, cost, health and effects on wildlife, as well as our ability to view the stars. How can you help?

From March 3 - 16, you can join people all over the world and record the brightness of your night sky. You simply match the appearance of the sky (toward the constellation Orion) with star maps of progressively fainter stars found online. Submit your measurements online with your date, time and location. A few weeks later, organizers release a map of light-pollution levels worldwide.
 
Over the last four Globe at Night campaigns, volunteers from more than 100 nations have contributed 35,000 measurements. To learn more about participating, head over to the Globe at Night website. For children's activities, check out http://www.darkskiesawareness.org/DarkSkiesRangers.

With half of the world’s population now living in cities, many urban dwellers have never experienced the wonder of pristinely dark skies ...and maybe never will. Your measurements can make a world of difference!