Globe at Night

Globe at Night is an international scientific research program that crowdsources measurements of light pollution in the night sky. At set time periods within each year, the project asks people to count the number of stars that they can see from their location and report it to the project's website. The coordinating researchers compile this information to produce a public, freely available map of global light pollution. By September 2011, almost 70,000 measurements had been made. The use of data collected by the public makes the program an example of citizen science. Globe at Night began as a NASA educational program in the US organized by the NOAO, and was expanded internationally during the 2009 International Year of Astronomy; it is an offshoot of the GLOBE Program, which focusses on school-based science education.

Light pollution, the introduction of artificial light into formerly dark ecosystems, has numerous adverse ecological effects. Exposure to artificial light can prove fatal for some organisms (e.g. moths that fly into a burning flame), can interrupt a life cycle phase for others (e.g. glowworms are unable to attract mates), and can reduce the possibilities for finding food (because of increased risk of predation). Light at night can also interfere with the chronobiology of many animals, including humans, through suppression of melatonin secretion.

There are also cultural and economic reasons for concern about excessive light at night. Skyglow prevents large fractions of the Earth's population from viewing the Milky Way, which drove the development of much of ancient science, mythology, and religion. In the US, the cost of generating wasted light is estimated to be 7 billion US dollars per year; the production of the electricity for this wasted light also results in the release of chemical pollution and greenhouse gases.

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