[SQM] Lunar eclipse and Globe at Night

[Chuck Bueter]

Hi, all,

In a casual citizen-science experiment, we are going to measure the  
amount by which sky glow diminishes during a total lunar eclipse on  
February 20, 2008.  I invite you to join us in this endeavor.  A list  
of key eclipse times for North American time zones are on a chart at  
http://www.nightwise.org/eclipse-sqm.htm.  If you have favorable  
weather conditions (or not) and want to contribute data to the online  
database at
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=p4s-VBT9q2zXDKrOWuTh8Jg&hl=en,  
then send me your email address and I will send you an invitation to  
be a collaborator who can make entries and changes to the Google  
document.

I believe that if we want people to embrace dark-sky practices, then  
they have to be motivated by their nighttime experience, not ours.   
We're hoping to give people a favorable experience during the lunar  
eclipse, with details at http://www.nightwise.org/eclipse.htm.   
Hopefully, all of our visitors will use an SQM at least once during  
the evening and enter their reading into our poster-sized chart.

If you've got an SQM, this is also time to step up for the Globe at  
Night program from February 25 to March 8, 2008.  This year they are  
actively soliciting observations from people who can correlate their  
visual star count with an SQM reading.  That means you.  See http:// 
www.globe.gov/GaN/ to get onboard.  From personal experience, I  
recommend you at least try submitting a Globe at Night observation  
this year, even if not as part of a concerted public event, just so  
you get a feel for what it entails.  Next year, during the 2009  
International Year of Astronomy, the Globe at Night initiative is one  
of the IYA2009 Cornerstone Projects, and hopefully all SQM owners  
will reach out to their communities to participate in this global  
assessment of our night skies.

I welcome your participation and comments,

Chuck Bueter
www.nightwise.org