Summer Night Sky Citizen Science with Globe at Night by JILL NUGENT

CITIZEN SCIENCE Summer night sky citizen science with Globe at Night BY JILL NUGENT

oday, seven out of ten peo- selves in this issue, your students tion, and light pollution is costly. In ple in the United States are may be able to propose local so- addition to monetary costs and en- Tunable to see the Milky Way lutions to address light pollution ergy waste, light pollution can also Galaxy (see Figure 1) when look- challenges. have adverse effects on organisms, ing into the night sky from where including humans. Exposure to ex- Project goal: To raise global aware- they live due to light pollution. cess light can impact animal (and ness about light pollution. The Globe at Night international plant) physiology. For humans, citizen science project aims to Your task: Measure and report the this includes impacts to circadian increase awareness of the grow- brightness of the night sky in your rhythms, the sleep-wake cycle, and ing global issue of light pollution geographic location. melatonin levels. Wildlife are also by engaging citizens in measur- impacted by light pollution, espe- Science discipline: Earth and envi- ing the night sky’s brightness in cially nocturnal wildlife behavior ronmental science their geographic location. Globe (such as animal movement, migra- at Night has participants across Lighting makes up a quarter of tion, and predator-prey dynam- all 50 United States and in over the world’s electricity consump- ics); in fact, many beachside com- 115 countries worldwide. The program is associated with the | FIGURE 1: Image of the Milky Way Galaxy as seen from Earth. National Optical Astronomy Ob- Today most people are not able to see the Milky Way from the servatory, the National Science area they live in due to light pollution. Foundation, and the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy. The program data are used to compare year-over-year trends and to compare with other data sets (such as bat feeding behavior data) to explore possible connections between light pollution and ecosystem impact. By implementing Globe at Night into your science classroom, you can help students begin to “see the light” on this important 21st-century issue. After immersing them- HTTPS://PIXABAY.COM/EN/MILKY-WAY-GALAXY- NIGHT-SKY-STARS-984050

10 munities now turn off beachfront artificial lights on evenings when | FIGURE 2: Globe at Night online data reporting page sea turtle hatchlings are emerging from nests. (In the presence of inland artificial night light, sea turtle hatchings crawl inland toward the artificial light, where they dry out and perish.) This is an example of communities coming together to solve a local wildlife challenge related to light pollution (see “Ad- ditional Resources” for related activities and curriculum connections, and “Helpful Project Links: Dark Skies Rangers” for Globe at Night lessons, activities, and edu- cator resources). Globe at Night offers exciting monthly constellation observation campaigns to get students involved in measuring and reporting night sky brightness. Students across the globe focus on observ- ing a constellation and reporting what they see. Here are five steps to get involved and report observations (see “Observe: 5 Easy Star Hunting Steps” and “Report Ob- servations”): 1. Use the Globe at Night website to help find your constellation in the night sky. 2. Use the Globe at Night website Night website and record the about 10 minutes) to find the latitude and longi- amount of cloud cover. • Internet access to report your tude of the location where you 5. Report the date, time, location, observation are making your observation. the chart you chose, and the If you live in the Northern 3. Go outside more than one amount of cloud cover at the Hemisphere (such as the United hour after sunset. The Moon time of observation (see Figure States), the constellation Hercu- should not be up. Let your 2). les is part of the Globe at Night eyes adjust to the dark for monthly campaign challenge Materials you will need: 10 minutes before your first during the dates of June 16–25, observation. • Your eyes turned toward July 15–24, and August 14–23, 4. Match your observation to one the sky (be sure to wait to 2017. Conversely, if you are in the of the seven magnitude charts observe until your eyes have Southern Hemisphere (such as provided on the Globe at adjusted to the dark, usually Australia) during June and July,

Summer 2017 11 you will focus on the constellation pollution issues as well as dissem- Globe at Night to create a middle Scorpius during the dates of June inating data they have collected school learning module entitled, 16–25 and July 15–24, 2017. Globe during Globe at Night to local “Starry Night: Engineering a So- at Night posts the dates and asso- officials and agencies in order to lution to Light Pollution” (see ciated resources for the monthly raise community awareness. Stu- Additional Resources for “Stu- constellation observation chal- dents may be interested in review- dents Discover: Starry Night Les- lenges, which take place through- ing historical data in the context son Plan”), which is available for out the school year. of a local wildlife species or issue. download online. The topic of light pollution can For example, Globe at Night his- By participating in Globe at easily be extended into a project- torical data have been helpful in Night, students have the oppor- based learning unit. Through the providing insight into bat migra- tunity to immerse in locally en- Globe at Night website, students tion corridors and geographic bat gaged, globally connected citizen have access to historical light pol- feeding patterns in Arizona. In ad- science, and your students may lution data and maps for research dition, Students Discover, a North generate innovative science and and exploration (see “Maps and Carolina–based group focused on engineering solutions to address Data”). Students may also be in- innovative teaching through citi- the growing 21st-century global terested in researching local light zen science, has collaborated with light pollution challenge. •

Jill Nugent ([email protected]) is a doctoral candidate in science education at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas, and serves on the SciStarter Team. Follow SciStarter on Twitter: @SciStarter. Educational Innovations, Inc.® One Block - A Million Inventions!

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SciScope 2017.07 EI Ad.indd 1 5/4/17 1:45 PM 12 CITIZEN SCIENCE

GLOBE AT NIGHT AT A GLANCE: When: Throughout the year. Globe at Night runs one campaign each month (monthly constellation challenges). (See “Observe: 5 Easy Star Hunting Steps” for the campaign dates.) Observations take place at least one hour after sundown.

How: After you have completed your observation of night sky brightness, you can report data directly to the Globe at Night website (see “Report Observations”). Globe at Night observations can also be made with an app to report data from a recommended safety practices; as Summer Northern Hemisphere: mobile device. (See “Project Home” the Globe at Night citizen science Finding Hercules—www. for related and available phone project takes place at night, always globeatnight.org/finding/hercules Summer Southern Hemisphere: apps.) ensure that your surroundings Finding Scorpius—www. are safe. For more information on globeatnight.org/finding/scorpius Where: Anywhere (global). safety in the science classroom, visit www.nsta.org/safety. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: Time needed: Variable. Roughly 30 American Museum of Natural History minutes per observation. HELPFUL PROJECT LINKS: light pollution activity “Beyond the Dark Skies Rangers—www. Glare”—http://bit.ly/2q4qiq0 Special equipment needed: None. globeatnight.org/dsr International Dark-Sky Association— Maps and data—www.globeatnight. www.darksky.org Cost: Free. org/maps.php Light pollution—www.darksky.org/ Observe: 5 easy star hunting steps— light-pollution Contact for more information: www.globeatnight.org/5-steps.php PBS sea turtle activity “Which Way to Project home—www.globeatnight.org the Ocean?”—www.pbs.org/pov/ [email protected]; if Project link on SciStarter—https:// citydark/lesson-plan interested, you may also sign scistarter.com/project/169-Globe- Quality lighting teaching kit—www. up for the Globe at Night e-mail at-Night noao.edu/education/qltkit.php list via the contact page, www. Report observations—www. Students Discover: Starry Night Lesson globeatnight.org/contact-us.php. globeatnight.org/webapp Plan—http://bit.ly/2oHNGoF

NGSS Connections: MS.LS2.5, MS.ESS3.3, MS.ESS3.4

This column is the result of a partnership between SciStarter Safety: As with any science lab, and the National Science Teachers Association. For more classroom, or field activity, always information about SciStarter and other citizen science projects, ensure that you are following please visit www.scistarter.com.

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