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LAB 2
GLOBE AT NIGHT

INTRODUCTION
The Globe at Night program is an international citizen-science campaign to raise public awareness of the impact of light pollution by
inviting citizen-scientists to measure their night sky brightness and submit observations to a website from a computer or smart phone.
Light pollution threatens not only our “right to starlight”, but can affect energy consumption, wildlife and health. More than 180,000
measurements have been contributed from people in 180 countries over the last 12 years, making Globe at Night the most successful
light pollution awareness campaign to date!

Check out their website at www.globeatnight.org.

LEARNING GOALS
The points below are the expected topics to understand by the end of this lab period. Remember to review these points before completing
the lab. If you do not understand one, review the steps that cover it and discuss with your instructor.

 Learn how light pollution affects the stars visible at night

 Learn how light pollution impacts Indigenous astronomies

 Determine the light pollution of your area based on the magnitude of stars visible

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STEP 1: THE IMPORTANCE OF DARK SKY

Read the following excerpt of the article, “Whitening the Sky: light pollution as a form of cultural genocide” by Hamacher, De Napoli,
and Mott (2020)1:

In Australia, the cosmos serves as a foundation for numerous Indigenous knowledge systems and Origin stories (Tindale 2005).
For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, the stars encode and communicate history, law, ethics, and moral values.
Ngarinyin elder David Mowaljarlai said that “Everything is written twice— on the ground and in the sky” (Mowaljarlai and
Malnic 1993), a description shared by Indigenous peoples around the world (e.g., Lee 2016). For example, the celestial emu is
one of the most widespread Aboriginal asterisms across Australia (Fuller et al. 2014). It is not made up of the bright stars, but
rather of the dark dust lanes in the Milky Way, between the Coalsack nebulae in Crux and the galactic center in Scorpius and
Sagittarius (Gullberg et al. 2020; Figure 1). The visibility and position of the emu in the sky throughout the year informs
Aboriginal people about the behavior of the bird (referencing both sexes, depending on the time of year it is visible), the
changing seasons, navigational pathways, and social practices (Fuller et al. 2013). This “dark constellation” — as well as the
Magellanic Clouds, globular and open star clusters, nebulae, fainter stars, and aurorae — are being eradicated from view by
increasing light pollution.

Traditionally, the concept of natural light pollution holds special significance to Aboriginal Australians. For example, the
Gunnai people in east Gippsland, Victoria shares oral traditions that describe the dynamic between the Moon man hunting the
celestial emu. When the Moon rises in the sky, the glow of its light makes the emu “hide away” (Thorpe 2019), but it returns to
visibility when the Moon sets. However, human-made light pollution is impacting the visibility of the emu and other fainter
celestial objects altogether, making them impossible to see in urban areas, regional cities, and — increasingly — in remote
communities.

Figure 1: The celestial emu, Gawarrgay, as described

in Kamilaroi traditions of northern New South Wales,
Australia. Image: Ghillar Michael Anderson and
Robert Fuller, after Fuller et al. (2014).

1. [1pt] What feature in the night sky makes up the celestial emu, Gawarrgay?

1 The full article can be found here at arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/2001/2001.11527.pdf.

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2. [1pt] The Moon is a source of “natural light pollution”. What relationship does the Moon have with the celestial emu, according to
the Gunnai people?

3. [1pt] What effect does human-made light pollution have on dark constellations like the celestial emu and other objects like the
Magellanic Clouds, globular and open star clusters, nebulae, fainter stars, and aurorae?

4. [1pt] Reflect on the article above, keeping in mind that the night sky is a source of knowledge, navigation, tradition, and is held
sacred by many Indigenous peoples. Write 2-3 sentences describing how light pollution impacts Indigenous culture and astronomies.

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STEP 2: OBSERVE WITH GLOBE AT NIGHT

OUTDOOR SKY-WATCHING EXERCISE

You will now measure the local light pollution by identifying stars of known magnitude (brightness) and determining the lowest
magnitudes (faintest stars) visible with the naked eye. With no light pollution (and very good eyesight!), you should be able to see stars
as faint as magnitude 7.5. In the heart of New York City, only the brightest stars and planets magnitude 3 or lower are visible.

1. Read and follow the official Activity Guide in the Appendices.

2. In the Spring semester (Jan—Feb), observe the constellation of Orion (Appendix A). In the Fall semester (Aug—Sep),
observe the constellation of Cygnus (Appendix B). Observe on the night of New Moon for best experience and result (see the
Astronomical Calendar in the Preamble section). If you find it a bit hard to orient yourself and locate where constellation is, use the
app/software from Lab 1 to help you see the sky before you go out.

3. [6pt] Fill out the Observation Sheet on the last page. You can choose to observe with the class, or finish this Step and Step 3 by
yourself later.

ALTERNATIVES TO OBSERVATIONS
ALT 1. Please make effort to find a clear night and finish it on your own during the week. Please write down the day and time that you
do the lab, to show your effort. If none of the nights that you observe outside is clear, please write down the weather, i.e., cloudy,
raining, thunderstorm, snow, bright Moon etc.

STEP 3: BE A GLOBAL CITIZEN SCIENTIST (OPTIONAL)

Go to Globe at Night website at www.globeatnight.org/webapp/ to see specific campaign dates for constellations Orion and Cygnus. Ask
your instructor if you are not sure about the dates. Report your observation online and see that you have contributed to solve the global
light pollution problem!

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APPENDIX A: ACTIVITY GUIDE FOR ORION

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APPENDIX B: ACTIVITY GUIDE FOR CYGNUS

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