Amateur Astronomy Under The Big Sky
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  • The GLOBE at Night

    Posted on March 16th, 2009 Lynn Powers 2 comments

    The Southwest Montana Astronomical Society (SMAS) invites you to participate in the annual global sky observation known as GLOBE at Night.  GLOBE at Night brings people outside to observe the constellation Orion from 16-28 March 2009. Participants simply choose a clear night on which stars are visible, take measurements of stars in this portion of the sky using GLOBE’s Magnitude Charts, and enter observations into the GLOBE at Night Web site.  Data about sky quality is collected, from which scientists can begin to explore the concept of light pollution and to research the patterns of light pollution across the globe.

    SMAS will be holding an informational meeting about the 2009 observation week in the Bozeman Public Library large meeting room on Saturday March 21, 2009 at 1:00 p.m.  SMAS members will demonstrate how to find Orion in the night sky, how to use the GLOBE’s magnitude charts and how to log your observations.  With 2009 designated as the “International Year of Astronomy”, SMAS and Globe at Night are trying to get everyone outside and looking up. This is a great way to view a fun constellation and learn more about our night sky.

    March 24th UPDATE:  The local CBS affiliate, KBZK, ran a piece on the GLOBE at Night event on their 5:00 and 10:00 newscast this evening, and a link to the GLOBE at Night website can be found on the KBZK website

     

    2 Responses to “The GLOBE at Night”

    1. Robert Wiersma

      Lynn, This is a great idea and I would like to hear more about GLOBE. Its 1:30 in Bozeman on March 21, so … I missed that. How can I find out about GLOBE.

    2. Sorry you weren’t able to make it. We made up packets to hand out at the Library today. Included in that packet was the family activity guide from the GLOBE at Night website (http://www.globe.gov/GaN/), as well as a copy of a March sky map (skymaps.com) We also had an information sheet that shows the Orion Constellation and a picture of the Greek drawing to give a bit of perspective. We had the SMAS website and the heavens-above.com website (for getting the lat/long)on the handout also. We had information about Astronomy Day coming up on 4/4 on the back of the hand out and invited people to come to that event at the Musuem of the Rockies.
      The global readings should be made between March 16-28. Let me know if you have any other questions.

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