The Countryside Charity is asking people this week to get outside and count the number of stars they can see! The survey of light pollution last year revealed that the majority of the country are living with a significant amount of light pollution which is obscuring the beauty of the night sky and preventing people from seeing stars. The charity now wants to find out if lockdown is having an impact on the amount of light being emitted and potentially might be enabling people to see more stars than before.
There are thought to be several benefits of a darker night sky including improved health & wellbeing, protection of wildlife, and a better connection with nature. The night sky is not something we often focus on unless there is an unusual astronomical event happening, but it is obviously there all the time and taking a moment to appreciate its beauty can bring about a sense of calm and wonder.
The CPRE believe that dark and starry skies are a special part of our countryside, but that buildings and streetlights affect our view of truly dark skies. They want to ensure that everyone has a right to view a starlit sky, and to do this they want to find out exactly what different people are seeing in different parts of the country. By collecting data, they can map out where star-spotters are seeing the darkest skies and the most stars, and they can them work with councils to decide what to do about the areas with the most light pollution.
To take part, choose a night between 6th - 14th February when the sky is clear and free of clouds. Find the constellation known as 'Orion' (see the website link here for more info) and count how many stars you can see inside it. Submit your results to the CPRE website and then check back to see what the results show!
Happy Stargazing! ✨
