Star count survey

[MartinHiggins]

Hi all, I've just come across this star count survey:

People urged to count stars to see if lockdown has cut light pollution | Astronomy | The Guardian

Hopefully it will be used to limit light pollution.

Cheers and clear skies!

[Nigella Bryant]

Yeah from tonight, 6th to 24th February supposed to be clear here. 

https://www.cpre.org.uk/what-we-care-about/nature-and-landscapes/dark-skies/star-count-2021/

Edited February 6, 2021 by Nigella Bryant

[ScouseSpaceCadet]

Submitted. It was done last weekend on a clear night. Apparently I did better than 73% of people last year. I demand a recount! 😄

[DaveS]

I would take part, and there may be the odd clear slot in the week, but I have my doubts about my intrinsic NELM for point sources, as the faintest stars I can see are not as faint as i would expect from my ability to see extended sources like the MW.

[Nigella Bryant]

43 minutes ago, DaveS said:

I would take part, and there may be the odd clear slot in the week, but I have my doubts about my intrinsic NELM for point sources, as the faintest stars I can see are not as faint as i would expect from my ability to see extended sources like the MW.

Every little helps, I guess it's cumulative so if lot's of people do it from your location there will be an average of the limiting magnitude and thereby an estimate of the light pollution for your area. Hence the more the merrier. Just need some clear skies, that's the challenge.

[ScouseSpaceCadet]

46 minutes ago, DaveS said:

I would take part, and there may be the odd clear slot in the week, but I have my doubts about my intrinsic NELM for point sources, as the faintest stars I can see are not as faint as i would expect from my ability to see extended sources like the MW.

It takes five minutes or so, including signing up. It's only the stars with the Orion constellation, minus the bow.

Not that many people take part, iirc around 2500 reports last year, so the more, the merrier.

Although I do wonder if the vast majority of those taking part are deep in city centres due to my score beating 73% of them. I'm in a Bortle 8 urban jungle so I feel sorry for those who have it worse.

Edited February 6, 2021 by ScouseSpaceCadet

[DaveS]

I've done it the last two years, but I think I may have been the only person from my location to take part, which is why I now have my doubts about the validity of my results. It's pretty rural here but we do catch the LP from the nearest towns,

[Nigella Bryant]

3 minutes ago, DaveS said:

I've done it the last two years, but I think I may have been the only person from my location to take part, which is why I now have my doubts about the validity of my results. It's pretty rural here but we do catch the LP from the nearest towns,

That's the problem, there is need for more people to get better results. It's like in solar observation, one person counting a sunspot group as apposed to hundreds counting. We need a good average to quantify results. 

[happy-kat]

Plan to do the count here if the weather allows

[ScouseSpaceCadet]

57 minutes ago, DaveS said:

I've done it the last two years, but I think I may have been the only person from my location to take part, which is why I now have my doubts about the validity of my results. It's pretty rural here but we do catch the LP from the nearest towns,

Please keep it up Dave. Your country needs you! 🧐

[Second Time Around]

Here in East Kent it's forecast to be cloudy (again!) both day and night throughout the entire period.

Even if the sky were to clear, light reflecting off the snow would mean less stars would be seen compared to last year.  This would need to be taken into account when analysing the results.

[Captain Scarlet]

I think the results are less important than the publicity. Anything that gets the topic in the public mind is a good thing. It’s a shame there’s no easy way to show people in Bortle 8 areas the majesty of an unpolluted night sky: just what it is they’re missing and what it is their area-conditions are hiding. And further, more difficult to my mind, to show those people lucky enough to live in a dark rural area, what it is they see and take for granted and how easily it can be made to disappear, and to get them to care about it.

Cheers, Magnus

[Second Time Around]

9 minutes ago, Captain Magenta said:

I think the results are less important than the publicity. Anything that gets the topic in the public mind is a good thing. It’s a shame there’s no easy way to show people in Bortle 8 areas the majesty of an unpolluted night sky: just what it is they’re missing and what it is their area-conditions are hiding. And further, more difficult to my mind, to show those people lucky enough to live in a dark rural area, what it is they see and take for granted and how easily it can be made to disappear, and to get them to care about it.

Cheers, Magnus

A very good point, Magnus.

[DaveS]

2 hours ago, Nigella Bryant said:

That's the problem, there is need for more people to get better results. It's like in solar observation, one person counting a sunspot group as apposed to hundreds counting. We need a good average to quantify results. 

 

1 hour ago, ScouseSpaceCadet said:

Please keep it up Dave. Your country needs you! 🧐

OK, the next clear night within the window I'll do a count. Will need to turn my smart lights off and take a recliner out so I can dark adapt for maybe 1/2 hour.

[wulfrun]

I'll happily do it, in the event that I actually get to see Orion! The answer will be "not many".

[DaveS]

The sky's clear but not as transparent as it was last night.

[DaveS]

Maybe I was being pessimistic as I have counted 23 stars after proper dark adaptation.

This is with my dodgy eyes, I have posterior vitreous detachment in my left eye, which is the dominant one.

I won't report until I have done several nights.

[Nigella Bryant]

Was supposed to be clear here but you guessed, it's cloudy. 

[DaveS]

Good job I did the count when I did as it's clouded over now. ASA Sequence picked up the unsafe conditions signal from the Cloudwatcher and shut down, parking the 'scope, warming up the camera and closing the obsy roof.

[Nigella Bryant]

Cleared up at 23hr and counted 24 stars. Is good for 62yr old eye's, lol. 

[DaveS]

Sounds a bit better than me. Maybe I'll get another chance, but the forecast isn't good.

[Nigella Bryant]

My 24 star count was said to be 95% better than most people. Good skies here but not perfect dark sky reserve type.

Edited February 7, 2021 by Nigella Bryant
Added comment

[Knight of Clear Skies]

I'll try and do a proper count this year if the skies cooperate.

I've created a composite image to help promote the 2021 star count.

[AstroNebulee]

Hopefully I'll be able to do it when the skies clear, it'll be a nice thing to do whilst my dslr is clicking away at Orion.  I'm in bottle 3 according to Co so should be able to see a few. Clear skies

[AstroNebulee]

9 hours ago, LeeHore7 said:

Hopefully I'll be able to do it when the skies clear, it'll be a nice thing to do whilst my dslr is clicking away at Orion.  I'm in bottle 3 according to Co so should be able to see a few. Clear skies

Just been and completed my star count, I think I would of counted more if my neighbours kitchen fluorescent light wasn't on, I did get a result of seeing more than 77‰ of last years count.