|
Abstract One of my favorite things to do when I was a kid was to go outside and look at the stars. As an adult, I moved to a major city and the stars seemed to vanish from the sky. Where did they go?Objective In this experiment you will investigate how the number of visible stars in the night sky can change from place to place because of light pollution. Introduction If you live in a big city or urban area it is hard to see many stars at night. In most urban areas only the most brilliant stars, planets and the moon can be seen. This is because of something called light pollution which is the accumulation of background light from homes, automobiles, streetlights and any other source of light in an urban area. This accumulation of background lighting can make it difficult to see the stars at night. Light pollution is a problem for many urban observatories. As the new development of homes and cities comes closer and closer, urban observatories experience more light pollution. This is why the world's best observatories are located in remote areas, like the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii. It is located in the middle of the vast Pacific Ocean, protecting the observatory from encroaching development and light pollution. How much light pollution do you have in your backyard? Can you find the best places to view stars in your area? You can find out by conducting an experiment to measure the visibility of stars at different locations. Terms, Concepts, and Questions to Start Background Research To do this type of experiment you should know what the following terms mean. Have an adult help you search the Internet, or take you to your local library to find out more!
Questions
Bibliography
Materials and Equipment
Experimental Procedure
Variations
Credits Sara Agee, Ph.D., Science Buddies
|
 |
Related LinksProject Summary
Donate to Science Buddies
Sponsor
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
I Did This Project!
Career Focus
If you like this project, you might enjoy exploring related careers.
 |
Geoscientist Just as a doctor uses tools and techniques, like X-rays and stethoscopes, to look inside the human body, geoscientists explore deep inside a much bigger patient—planet Earth. Geoscientists seek to better understand our planet, and to discover natural resources, like water, minerals, and petroleum oil, which are used in everything from shoes, fabrics, roads, roofs, and lotions to fertilizers, food packaging, ink, and CD’s. The work of geoscientists affects everyone and everything. |
 |
Astronomer Astronomers think big! They want to understand the entire universe—the nature of the Sun, Moon, planets, stars, galaxies, and everything in between. An astronomer's work can be pure science—gathering and analyzing data from instruments and creating theories about the nature of cosmic objects—or the work can be applied to practical problems in space flight and navigation, or satellite communications. | |
 |
Park Ranger Park rangers are the law enforcement officials of our state and national parks. They protect and preserve parklands, keeping park resources safe from people who might try to damage them, deliberately or through neglect, and keeping people safe from dangers within the park. To achieve this goal, park rangers work in a wide variety of positions, including education and interpretation for park visitors, emergency dispatch, firefighting, maintenance, law enforcement, search and rescue, and administration. There is a large global shortage of park rangers in developing countries. | |||
|
Join Science Buddies
Become a Science Buddies member! It's free! As a member you will be the first to receive our new and innovative project ideas, news about upcoming science competitions, science fair tips, and information on other science related initiatives.
Support Science Buddies
If this website has helped you, won't you consider a small gift so we may continue developing resources to help teachers and students?
|
