Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

what exactly is measuring the amount of skyglow? does the gray level correspond to the amount of light pollution?

Hi,

Here is the definition of sky glow from the Science Buddies Project idea writeup:

“Skyglow is scattered light in the atmosphere from artifical light sources on the surface. In the daytime, the bright light of the sun obscures any light from more distant stars. Skyglow acts in a similar way to obscure starlight. In urban areas, bright skyglow obscures light from all but the brightest stars
“

Here is the project idea writeup:

https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... p022.shtml

I suggest you read the above project writeup very carefully, including all the weblinks in the Bibliography section. That should answer most of your questions.

Good luck on the project!!

Best regards,


Barrett L. Tomlinson

i read it carefully and my question isnt what is skyglow, im asking what factor is measuring it? does a higher gray level mean theres more skyglow? or less?

Hi,

Sorry I misinterpreted your question. 0 on the gray scale is black, amd 255 is white. This link may help explan more:

http://www.sphoto.com/techinfo/histogra ... grams4.htm


Skyglow is just light. More sky glow just means more white, less black.

Here is a related science buddies project on Digital Photos and Dynamic Range which may help, particularly the links in the Bibliography section:

https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... p014.shtml

I hope this helps.

Best regards,

Barrett L Tomlinson