![]() ![]() DeSantis' fifth-grade class at the Plymouth South Elementary School located in Plymouth, MA, used Insight Observatory's 16" Astronomical Telescope for Educational Outreach (ATEO) located at an elevation of 7,778 ft in the dark skies of New Mexico. Read the Full Article by Jan Hattenbach at Read More The researchers’ findings will not please astronomers: Earth’s nights are becoming brighter. Each pixel covers ½ square kilometer, a higher spatial resolution than previous instruments, which enables scientists to investigate neighborhood-scale changes, rather than a city or national, for the first time. VIIRS observes the Day/Night band (DNB), which picks up visible through near-infrared wavelengths. The VIIRS instrument is the first-ever calibrated satellite radiometer designed to measure nighttime lights – earlier investigations were often based on uncalibrated sensors on military satellites. Science Advance The team used the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) instrument on the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership weather satellite to measure the change in global light emissions between October 2012 and October 2016. Areas newly lit since 2012 appear in bright red. Qatar nighttime lights Outdoor lighting in Doha, Qatar, between 2012 (cyan) and 2016 (red) as seen from the Suomi satellite. Note that Australia is an odd case: wildfires increased the country's lit area, but this effect was not included in the radiance analysis. Warmer colors in each map correspond to higher rates of change. World maps showing the rates of change of the lit area of the world (left) and the measured brightness of each country (right) during 2012–2016. Kyba researches the spread of artificial lights and how it affects our nights, and as a former member of the board of directors of the International Dark Sky Association, he also advocates the use of improved lighting practices.īut in the November 22nd Science Advances, Kyba and colleagues show that we are farther from the goal of dark, starry skies than ever. “Honestly, I had thought, assumed, and hoped that with LEDs we were turning the corner,” says Christopher Kyba (German Research Center for Geosciences). In the case of the switch from sodium lights to LEDs, though, it's more than that. In fact, this most recent star party was hosted in conjunction with the Western Colorado Astronomy Club (WCAC), and thanks to our awesome board member Dr.When scientists are disappointed with their results, it's usually because they were following a different hypothesis than where their data leads. This new structure has readily available AC power for all manner of telescopes, cameras, and computers, and now that it is complete we'll be using it for education and outreach purposes in conjunction with many local organizations and the local astronomy clubs. One of the most important parts of this outreach initiative officially went live this past weekend with our first-ever public star party from the brand new 50x50ft observing pad. However, as we prepare to open our doors to the global community we are also working hard to share our love for astronomy with the local community as well. As many of our closer followers know, the Grand Mesa Observatory will soon begin offering world-class remote astrophotography from the dark skies of Western Colorado. ![]()
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