Globe at Night Light Pollution Campaign (May 25 - June 3, 2019)

The southern evening sky 18:44pm ACST (90 minutes after sunset) on 25 March as as seen from Adelaide. Similar views will be seen in the rest of Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen).

The Globe at Night world light pollution survey runs each year now and are collecting observations during all 12 months of the year. The next survey period is May 25 – June 3 (starting Saturday).

Everyone can be involved, hopefully students and teachers too. Basically, after astronomical twilight (90 minutes after sunset ( best from 9-10 pm) head out, look to the north-west to find Bootes, (if you are in the northern hemisphere) or south to find Crux (for us southern hemisphere types) then check how many stars are visible for Bootes and Crux, and report your observations. It’s a great excuse to get outdoors and look at the sky. You might even see the International Space Station.

This year you can submit your results a smart phone or tablet. To do this, you can use the web application at www.globeatnight.org/webapp/. Globe at Night is also on Facebook and Twitter.

There is a pod-cast on light pollution and a powerpoint presentation that explains about light pollution and how to do the sky survey, and special activities for kids. So go on, get out and have a go!