Earth Gauge Tip of the Week — Seeing Stars

When you look up at the night sky, how many stars do you see?  As cities and suburban communities grow, so does the amount of artificial light from things like street lights and billboards.  Lots of nighttime lighting means that you can probably only see the brightest stars.  While outdoor lighting helps humans see at night and stay safe, night lights can impact wildlife in other ways.  Lights can disorient sea turtle hatchlings that should be headed for the sea, throw migratory birds off-course and keep salamanders from leaving their dens.  Some bats will not fly in bright areas, impacting their ability to find food.

Viewer Tip:  You can measure the amount of “light pollution” in your community and contribute to a growing data set by participating in GLOBE at Night.  From February 12-21, share your observations about how light affects your ability to view the night sky.  It’s easy to participate – visit www.globeatnight.org/observe.html to find all the tools and information you need to:

• find your latitude and longitude;