Time & Date
Sat. Mar 6 - Tue. Mar 16
12:00am - 12:00am
Description
The Calgary Centre of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (RASC), the University of Calgary's Rothney Astrophysical Observatory (RAO) and the TELUS World of Science are looking for night-sky observers to participate in a world-wide project.
From March 3-16, 2010, the Globe at Night Project (http://www.globeatnight.org) is looking for observations of the night sky's brightness using the stars of the constellation Orion as a reference. The technique involves using star charts of the constellation provided by the Globe at Night researchers that simulate Orion's appearance in the sky in settings that vary from pristine to heavily light polluted. Observations should be made during the March 3 to 16 period to ensure no Moon is in the sky.
Unfortunately for far northern latitudes, like portions of Canada, Orion's position in the sky can put it in the near-horizon haze and so its appearance might not correctly reflect the local sky quality. For this reason, the Calgary Centre of the RASC has developed an additional star chart using the constellation Auriga, which passes high overhead at this time of year. This chart, and additional charts for Orion, are available at http://calgary.rasc.ca/skybrightness2010.htm .
To collect these data, the RAO has developed a reporting website, http://webapps3.ucalgary.ca/%7Edppvan/star_gazing/ .
You may use any user name so that you will remain anonymous if you wish. The word clearsky is the password (all lower case). You could also supply readings from a Unihedron Sky Quality Meter if you are using one. Please send any observations done with the Globe at Night charts to their web site as well.
