Post by RobbW on Feb 28, 2011 23:43:05 GMT -6
Has anyone else posted their observations for the 2011 Globe At Night program? It's an annual event where amateur astronomers around the world measure the brightness of their local sky conditions. Details can be found at www.globeatnight.org/. Seeing as how tonight was perfectly clear and the waning moon had already set hours ago, it was a great night (temperatures be damned) to get out and make my observations of my local sky for this global initiative.
Turns out my night sky out here in Elgin is about a Mag 5 on their scale. However, I couldn't decide if I should submit my Mag 5 observations or drop it down to Mag 4. I have sensitive eyesight and can see dimmer objects than many other people. So, I was able to see stars to Mag 5 tonight. However, if the average observer went out, they probably would have only recorded Mag 4 skies. I wonder if I could have bumped that up to Mag 6+ if I had properly adapted my eyes? With it being so cold, I just went out and took a quick look. I was only out for about 15 minutes max. Hardly enough time for my eyes to attain their optimum capabilities. Oh well, I didn't feel like freezing my assets!
Turns out my night sky out here in Elgin is about a Mag 5 on their scale. However, I couldn't decide if I should submit my Mag 5 observations or drop it down to Mag 4. I have sensitive eyesight and can see dimmer objects than many other people. So, I was able to see stars to Mag 5 tonight. However, if the average observer went out, they probably would have only recorded Mag 4 skies. I wonder if I could have bumped that up to Mag 6+ if I had properly adapted my eyes? With it being so cold, I just went out and took a quick look. I was only out for about 15 minutes max. Hardly enough time for my eyes to attain their optimum capabilities. Oh well, I didn't feel like freezing my assets!
