Thanks to MWW reader Connie Walker for sharing this information about the GLOBE at Night Campaign, which is currently underway. My Wonderful World is an ardent supporter of citizen science initiatives like GLOBE, which we featured during last year’s inventory here on the blog. So get out and get stargazing–tonight!

SHED LIGHT ON LIGHT POLLUTION!

Be part of the “GLOBE at Night” citizen-science campaign and
make a world of difference! The GLOBE at Night campaign runs March 16-28, 2009.
Help preserve our natural heritage for generations to come.

More than one-fifth of the world population, two-thirds of
the United States
population and one half of the European Union population are unable to see the
stars in our Milky Way galaxy arch across a pristinely dark sky. With half the
world’s population now living in cities, this problem is only getting worse.
Yet you can easily be part of a local solution to a global problem.

Shed light on light pollution! Take a few minutes to monitor
your local night sky brightness, place your measurement on-line noting your
location, date and time and within a few weeks see a map of light pollution
levels worldwide.

Find out more
information (including family activity packets and teacher packets aligned with national standards in geography, science, and mathematics) at the GLOBE at Night web site (www.globe.gov/GaN). GLOBE at Night
is an official International Year of Astronomy Dark Skies Awareness cornerstone
project.

To learn more about other IYA2009 Dark Skies Awareness
cornerstone projects and the effects of light pollution, visit the links on
http://www.darkskiesawareness.org.

And don’t forget: Earth Hour, takes place at the end of this month on March 28.