Astronomy & Dark Sky

Astronomy & Dark Sky - Learning Objectives

Light Pollution and why it presents a challenge for telescopes.
How can light pollution be mitigated?

Atacama Desert, Chile

The night the lights went out - http://darksky.org Photo by Todd Carlson

2003 Northeast blackout affected 55 million people in the United States, many seeing the Milky Way for the first time.

The World Atlas of the Artificial Night Sky Brightness

The night sky in the World Satellite monitoring of the artificial night sky brightness and the stellar visibility began in 1998
http://www.lightpollution.it/worldatlas/pages/fig1.htm

Classroom Dark Sky Activity

If you want to find out how bad light pollution is where you live, use this interactive map created from the ”World Atlas” data or the NASA Blue Marble Navigator for a bird’s eye view of the lights in your town. Google Earth users can download an overlay also created from the “World Atlas” data. And don’t forget to check out the Globe at Night interactive light pollution map data created with eight years of data collected by citizen scientists.

NASA Images

https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=84722

Most Advanced Camera for Astronomy

Hello DARKNESS - UCSB physicists team up with Caltech astronomers to commission the most advanced camera in the world...
"Distinguishing that planet’s light from its star, however, can be problematic. But an international team led by UC Santa Barbara physicist Benjamin Mazin has developed a new instrument to detect planets around the nearest stars. It is the world’s largest and most advanced superconducting camera. The team’s work appears in the journal Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific.

According to Mazin, “Our hope is that one day we will be able to build an instrument for the Thirty Meter Telescope planned for Mauna Kea on the island of Hawaii or La Palma,” Mazin said. “With that, we’ll be able to take pictures of planets in the habitable zones of nearby low mass stars and look for life in their atmospheres. That’s the long-term goal and this is an important step toward that.” [1]

Read the complete article by Julie Cohen - Monday, April 16, 2018 - Santa Barbara, CA http://www.news.ucsb.edu/2018/018769/hello-darkness

Light Pollution & Dark Sky Summary

Use lights only when and where necessary.
Shield or recess light bulbs to prevent spillage and glare.
Aim fixtures downward so there is no upward spill of light or light trespass.
Use warm temperature light sources that are easier for astronomers to filter.
Use low wattage energy efficient light bulbs, and finally turn off lights when they are not needed.