This slideshow introduced Pasadena Public Library's new Globe At Night kit, acquired through partnership with LAPL, which patrons can use to help scientists track changes in the light pollution that blocks our view of the stars.
4. THE LOSS OF THE NIGHT APP
The app will help you locate
stars that scientists want your
help tracking. When you click
“Start observing stars,” the app
will show you the constellations
and planets around you, and
indicate where to aim your
phone’s camera to hunt for the
stars that you need to track.
5. THE LOSS OF THE NIGHT APP
When you see the circle
settle on a single spot and
grow larger, you’ll know
that’s the star you are
looking for. Try to find that
star with just your eyes, and
tell the app whether it is
visible or not.
7. THE LOSS OF THE NIGHT APP
When you’re finished, the
app will tell you what your
limiting magnitude is,
meaning how many stars
you can see out of the
thousands of stars that are
usually visible in a perfectly
dark night sky.
8. THE LOSS OF THE NIGHT APP
You can use the Loss of the
Night app to enter the reading
from your Sky Quality Meter.
9. MINI GPS
If you need to know your
geographical coordinates, use
the Mini GPS included in the
Globe at Night kit. The Mini GPS
connects to a satellite and will
tell you your exact coordinates.
10. GLOBE AT NIGHT WEB APP:
You can also use any
computer to submit your
Sky Quality Meter
readings to
http://www.globeatnight.
org/webapp
If you allow the website to
see your location, you
won’t have to enter GPS
coordinates.
11. PLANISPHERE
A planisphere, also called a
Star Chart, is a flat, multi-part
chart that displays the stars
visible from a particular
latitude for any time and date.
The Night Sky planisphere that
comes in our Globe at Night kit
is intended for use in our
geographical area, between
latitudes of 30 and 40 degrees.
Use the wheel to match up the
date and the time of day to get
the most accurate guide to our
night sky.
12. Remember: in order to
draw any kind of
conclusions in science, you
need lots and LOTS of data.
So if you want to be really
helpful, try to input a
MINIMUM of 7 nights of
observations!