Be dazzled with the night sky

by Hélia Paula Mendonça

Joined Jan 2024
Published Books 3

Be dazzled with the night sky

EBIAH students’ research on seeing the sky

Photograph of the Alentejo landscape, captured at the Lago Alqueva Observatory (OLA), during the “star shower” of the Perseids.
On the left side of the image it is possible to see a Perseid, a luminous trail produced by a particle that enters the Earth’s atmosphere and which appears to come from the constellation Perseus. In the center, the Milky Way band can be clearly seen.

There are places like this: the night falls and the sky becomes full of starlight. It isn’t that hard to find them!

Tricks to see the sky at night

Sometimes we hear about particular celestial objects or features: the Milky Way, the constellation Ursa Major, the “seven-star”, or the Orion nebula. Those who have already managed to see them with their own eyes, and not just in images, were certainly amazed. Just look for a place with a dark sky, or on the contrary, full of starlight.

Comet Neowise, observed in Cabo da Roca, Sintra region, in 2020. Photography by Cédric Pereira

Light yes, but in moderation!

In most cities there is indeed a lot of artificial light. This light prevents the pupils of our eyes from dilated enough for our vision to become sensitive to the faint light of most stars. Furthermore, artificial light is reflected by suspended particles in the atmosphere, such as dust or the smallest droplets of water. The light thus reflected creates a luminescence that nullifies the visibility of most celestial objects. We call “light pollution” the excessive and inappropriate use of outdoor artificial light.

“Light pollution”

Light pollution is the human-made alteration of outdoor light levels from those occurring naturally.

One of the tools most used by amateur astronomers is the “Light Pollution Map”. This website allows you to choose places with the lowest possible light pollution rate and which, at the same time, are easily accessible. Just zoom in on the map and look for the darkest places near your area of residence or where you are on vacation.

https://www.lightpollutionmap.info/#zoom=2.73&lat=44.4793&lon=8.4232&state=eyJiYXNlbWFwIjoiTGF5ZXJCaW5nUm9hZCIsIm92ZXJsYXkiOiJ3YV8yMDE1Iiwib3ZlcmxheWNvbG9yIjpmYWxzZSwib3ZlcmxheW9wYWNpdHkiOjYwLCJmZWF0dXJlc29wYWNpdHkiOjg1fQ==

Light Pollution in Azores

EFFECTS OF LIGHT POLLUTION IN THE AZORES:

The fauna affected by light pollution in the Azores includes several species of seabirds such as the shearwater and other mammals, including bats and even insects.

There are projects in the Azores that involve citizens in two ways:

– installing photometers in secondary schools and involving students and teachers in the analysis and interpretation of data. In this way, data with scientific value is obtained with the participation of the school population;
– organizing publicity sessions where citizens have the opportunity to measure the brightness of the sky in some places and thus understand the problem of light pollution.

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cE3c is committed to a sustainable future. Our mission is to produce fundamental and applied research in Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes that integrates life and climate sciences.