I like to claim Tucson is the astronomy capital of the world. I am proud of our relatively dark urban skies compared to comparable cities around the world. We can easily see stars ordinarily blotted out by light pollution in other urban areas.
Globe at Night is an international citizen-science campaign to raise public awareness of light pollution.Everyday citizens are asked to measure the night sky brightness and submit their observations. It is very easy to do and the most current Globe at Night Campaign starts Thursday (April 9) and goes through next Saturday, April 18. Give it a try. Go to www.globeatnight.org for more information.
For more information about light pollution and its effect on astronomy and the environment be sure to visit the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA) website at www.darksky.org. In the interest of full disclosure, I should note I am a co-founder of IDA.
The International Dark Sky Week is Monday, April 13 through Sunday, April 18. This idea was created in 2003 by then high-school student Jennifer Barlow who wanted ββ¦people to be able to see the wonder of the night sky without the effects of light pollution.β
Dark Sky Weekβs goals are to inspire people to celebrate the beauty of the night sky, raise awareness about the negative effects of light pollution, and embolden people to take action. Check it out on the IDA website.
Look to the west tonight around 7 p.m. to see Venus. Just above it and to the right (north), three degrees away, is the Pleiades, the Seven Sisters. Follow Venus for the next week as it moves east past the Pleiades, coming within 2 degrees of them Friday night and Saturday.
