A Night @Kitt Peak

I just got back from out Project Astro workshop night at Kitt Peak.  Spend most of the evening showing teachers objects through the Galileoscope including Jupiter, Mizar, M4, M7, M8, M13 and M31.  Not a bad collection for a little scope.

I did manage a couple of night shots.  Couldn’t resist getting the Milky Way over one of the domes on Kitt Peak.I also took a shot toward Tucson of the lights.  Remember Tucson has good lighting ordinances so note the lack of upward directed lighting,  You still get some light…hey, there are a lot of people down there!

Good night…another day of the workshop tomorrow!

Another 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast

I will be on the 365 Days of Astronomy podcast tomorrow, May 16th, with my colleague Connie Walker.  Our topic is “Back to the Dark Ages: Responsible Nightime Lighting”.

Connie is our dark skies guru and the chair of the US and International Dark Skies working group for the International Year of Astronomy.  She wrote most of it and wanted a second person, so I stepped in.  I added a few bad jokes that you will probably be able to pick out fairly quickly.

Dark Skies Awareness is a big cornerstone project of the IYA.  Activities are going on throughout the year at locations around the country.  On your summer vacation,  you might catch a dark skies program at one of our national parks or see a planetarium show on light pollution.  Many local astronomy clubs are involved with dark skies programs as well and have lots of great information.

If you haven’t subscribed to this podcast yet, get on board now!  There are a lot of peope out there producing interesting work on an incredibly diverse range of topics in astronomy.

National Dark Sky Week

April 20th to the 26th marks National Dark Sky week.  Started in 2003, its goal is to raise awareness of good outdoor lighting to help preserver our natural dark skies (yes, dark is the natural state of night although it can be hard to believe at times).   Dark Sky Week is endorsed by the International Dark-Sky Association, the American Astronomical Society, the Astronomical League, and Sky & Telescope.

To see the full extent of the problem, let’s take a look at satellite measurements of artificial lighting from the World Atlas of Artificial Lighting.

As you can see, everything in the east of the US through the midwest is pretty socked in.  The west still has a few dark areas but they are rapidly being threatened as well.  Cities such as Las Vegas and Phoenix have lights that can be seen from hundreds of miles away.

The International Dark Sky Association has all kinds of great info on the effects of bad lighting on wildlife and human health.  Fortunately, good outdoor lighting can help a lot and even save money in the long run.

For a little humor for Dark Skies Week, you can watch the Simpsons episode, Excuse Me While I Miss the Sky where Lisa leads the crusade against light pollution.

Earth Hour: The Big Picture

Many people celebrated (and some derided) Earth Hour last Saturday night.  Landmarks in major cities around the world went dark and people were encouraged to join in.  I was at the U of Arizona Mall with my telescope at a star party.  Here is an pic of the event (click to embiggen).

I couldn’t do before and during pictures since the streetlights never came on and I didn’t feel like waiting until they were turned back on afterwards.

This week the Boston Globe’s Big Picture featured images from Earth Hour Around the world. Be sure to click on the images to see the cities go dark.  It’s pretty interesting to see the differences.

Turn Out the Lights: It’s Earth Hour

Tonight, March 28th, people in cities around the world will turn off their lights in honor of Earth Hour. And it really is an hour: from 8:30pm to 9:30pm local time.  Cities across the USA and the world are participating, turning off as many outdoor lights as they can (lights critical for safety are not turned off, of course!)  Major US landmarks are going dark including Broadway and the Vegas Strip (that I want to see!)

You are encouraged to take photos or videos of the event and upload them.  Blogging and Twittering are also encouraged.

As for me, I will be manning a telescope at a star party at the University of Arziona in Tucson. We have some people around town with light meters who will try to measure potential changes as well as photographers at strategic points around town taking pictures before, during and after Earth Hour.  Earth Hour is a major event in Tucson, which is one of the best cities in the country for its outdoor lighting policies.

Now if I can’t appeal to your sense of environmental awareness and responsibility guys, chicks dig candleliht dinners for a cause.  It might help you tomorrow night in another department if you know what I mean!

So turn out the lights, just for an hour.