Salutations celestial sight seers!
Thanks for the last three years of watching and sharing this program.
I'm David Fuller, welcome to Eyes on the Sky; what's up this week?
How many stars do you see in Orion when you look up at the Hunter constellation at night?
Most of us can see the 3 belt stars and 4 shoulder and knee stars, even from heavily
light polluted areas.
But there's a lot more that could be visible here; for example, where Orion's sword region
is, his head, shield held up towards Taurus or his club extended over his head, as many
of those stars are 3-rd, 4-th, or even 5-th magnitude.
Regular viewers of these videos know that Eyes on the Sky talks about light pollution
reduction strategies.
This week is about measuring light pollution, and everyone can do this: It's not only easy
to do, it's necessary to understand the extent of light pollution around the world.
The Globe at Night is a campaign designed to do just that, and taking part is as simple
as looking up at the night sky, and relaying to Globe at Night what you see -- even if
it's cloudy!
Here's how it works: Go outside, and let your eyes adapt to the outdoor illumination in
your area, doing your best to shield direct lights from your view.
Then take a look at one of several major constellations in the sky, and report what you see (even
if it's just clouds) with simple to read star charts that best match what's up there.
Most people know the constellation Orion for example -- or at least have seen it, even
if they didn't know what it was.
The three belt stars nearly intersect the celestial equator, so Orion is visible from
nearly every location on Earth humans live, in both the northern and southern hemispheres.
For those unsure where and how to start, when you go to the Globe at Night website, click
on the "Observe" link.
That will take you to a page that details the 5 simple steps to take next: Finding the
constellation to observe, determining your latitude and longitude, when to view, matching
up your view of the sky with the provided star charts, and then reporting your data
to Globe at Night.
It's that easy!
And if you have an Android smartphone or tablet, it's even easier than that.
Download the free app "Loss of the Night," and follow the simple instructions.
Make sure you have GPS turned on so that the app can accurately assess your location, the
just tap on "Start Observing Stars."
A circle with an arrow will appear, and guide you towards progressively dimmer stars in
the sky.
It prefers seven measurements, so keep inputting whether you can see a star or not until one
is too dim to see.
Then enter that information, and you're done!
It only takes a couple of minutes of time.
What's great about The Globe at Night campaign now is that it has been extended to all months
of the year!
You can submit observations either by smart phone using simple arrows pointing to visible
stars, or use the star maps provided on the globeatnight.org website.
And this year, you can choose from more than just Orion, Leo and Crux.
Southern hemisphere observers can add Scorpius, Sagittarius and Cetus to their options, and
northern hemisphere observers can submit observations using Hercules, Cygnus, Pegasus and Perseus.
With so many options, why NOT help out with this effort to measure the extent of light
pollution?
More data means we can more accurately assess the problem, and then work to reduce it.
Of course, your own efforts to actively reduce light pollution and light trespass are needed
as well, either by installing motion sensors for outdoor lights, using shields to keep
lighting aimed down at the ground, or using specialty light bulbs in post lamps to ensure
lighting goes downwards and reduces glare at the same time.
Every little bit helps!
Along The Ecliptic: Mercury is rising in the western sky just after sunset, though it will
be better placed next week, so stay tuned for spotting the innermost planet then.
Jupiter wedges it's way in between the two twins of Gemini, sauntering it's way slowly
towards the feet of Castor.
The Moon, Mars and Spica all gather together on the morning of January 23-rd to share the
same 6 degrees of sky with each other.
Two mornings later, the slimming crescent Moon stops by to see Saturn, less than a degree
and a half from the ringed sixth planet.
And just before sunrise, Venus has veered to the other side of twilight, and will be
a "morning star" for the next 9 months or so.
That's all for this week.
Keep your eyes on the sky and your outdoor lights aimed down, so we can all see, what's
up.
I'm David Fuller, wishing you clear and dark skies.