Avoid the Light - do Globe at Night

By Beth on March 2, 2008 at 10:24 pm | In Contributors |

Every year, the Globe at Night project asks people around the world to get outside and observe the constellation Orion. Report your location and which of the charts best matches what you saw.

This is a great slacker project. It doesn’t take much time or any tools. You can do it with kids, friends, or whoever. If you forget to do it tonight, you can do it tomorrow or the next time you have clear or mostly clear skies. You have until March 8, 2008 - next Saturday. This is a worldwide project.

To participate, go to the web site and check out the limiting magnitude charts to know roughly what the differences are in what you can see. Then go outside and block the most glaring lights. Let your eyes adjust to the dark for a few minutes as you locate Orion. Carefully consider what details you see in the constellation. Only Betelgeuse - the red shoulder star? All three belt stars? Stars close below the belt? The feet and shoulders? The head cluster? The Orion nebula? Fainter stars below the lower shoulder? Remember the faintest stars you could see.

By the way, Mars is the “extra star” somewhat nearby rivaling Betelgeuse with its bright red color.

Then go inside and report your observation. You’ll need to know where you are, what time you made your observation, and which chart most closely matches what you saw. In 2007, there were 8,491 observations. After a week of observations this year, it looks like there are fewer than 2000 observations.