Seeing Stars Blog

February 10, 2025   Rigel

Last week we began exploring the constellation Orion by visiting red giant star Betelgeuse. The next star we’ll visit is Rigel, one of Orion’s knees, or to some observers one of his feet. It joins Betelgeuse as one of the ten brightest stars we can see, and is part of a star system with as many as four other stars. The three closest to Rigel orbit each other around a common gravitational pole. There may be another, fainter star associated with this group but their distance from earth makes observations difficult. Distances are always considered approximate by scientists.

Rigel is a blue supergiant star. It has burned all the hydrogen fuel in its core and expanded to more than 70 times the size of our sun. Great stellar winds blow from Rigel sending vast amounts of material into space from its surface. Like Betelgeuse, Rigel is a young star, between 7 and 9 million years old, but has become a blue supergiant instead of a red supergiant.

First named by Arab astronomers, and possibly Australian observers at an unknown time in the past, our records of Rigel being named began in 1521. On the other side of the planet Australian, New Zealand and South Pacific peoples named this star and used it for navigation because it is easily visible in all the world’s oceans.

Rigel and Betelgeuse are similar yet have many opposite qualities. We are learning from each of them about how stars are made, grow and decay in different ways. While the astronomers are studying them, we can be enjoying their sparkling addition to the night sky, and pondering the mysteries of why two stars are so different. Similarities and differences connect everything in the sky, the same as on earth. Share your binoculars with a friend on a night walk and visit the red and blue giants in Orion. (back)

 February 3, 2025 Betelgeuse

February offers some of the best star gazing because the constellation Orion is clearly visible early in the evening and high in the southern sky. One of the biggest, brightest constellations, Orion has many types of stars, all easy to see with or without binoculars. 

 Most of us have heard of Betelgeuse, the big, orange star on Orion’s shoulder. Betelgeuse is 1,000 times larger than our sun and even though a giant in comparison, is quite a bit younger. Scientists estimate its age at around 8 million years, very young compared to our 4.6-billion-year-old sun. Betelgeuse rotates three times faster than our sun but because of its huge size takes 36 years to make one complete rotation.

Like some movie stars (who are not related to real stars!) Betelgeuse is young and destined to ‘live fast and die young’ by becoming a supernova around 100,000 years from now. Our sun is expected to live on for another few billion years, slowly aging.

If our sun were replaced by Betelgeuse the area where Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars  now orbit and even the asteroid belt beyond Mars would be taken up by the giant star.

Betelgeuse brightens and fades noticeably. Ancient Chinese astronomers and Australian aboriginal peoples noted thousands of years ago that the red giant changed brightness.

Today’s telescopes and other instruments for measuring astronomical objects have raised questions as well as given us information on Betelgeuse. Infrared telescopy found what may be huge convection bubbles of gas on the surface of the star. There are six shells surrounding the star that scientists are trying to understand. 

Many more mysteries are waiting to be answered about this one star, in one constellation. Using only binoculars, we can see enough beauty and mystery in the stars, planets, and moon to awaken our curiosity, imagination, and creativity, as humans have done throughout our time on earth.  (back)

January 27, 2025  Cataracts 

We can finally see the end of January, and none too soon. Cold, wet, no snow, or not enough to enjoy, and erratic temperatures are all reasons to be glad it is almost over. But above us the planets are still putting on a good show, spread across the southern sky with the constellation Orion behind them. Once the bitter cold nights are past, go out and look at the beautiful stars and planets Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and Venus before going to bed!

While inside keeping warm, I have been reading about health issues related to disruption of natural light and dark cycles. Dr. Mario Motta, a cardiologist and associate professor at Tufts University School of Medicine describes a surprising reason older people often see less well at night. Most of us develop micro-calcifications in our eyes over time. This can develop into cataracts. Blue light from artificial light scatters at least ten times more than any other light, and will scatter off the calcifications in the eyes. Dr. Motta believes this reduces visual clarity at night. Red light, or any warm colored light, which scatters much less, allows better visual clarity. 

Bright white (blue) LED lights are commonly used in our homes. Experiment indoors by switching some light bulbs to warm-colored bulbs. Use brighter lights where needed for tasks and gentler lights for lighting the room. LED bulbs come in warm colors now; we can use energy saving, money saving, LED lights that are also a color temperature that is good for our health.

Dr. Motta is also an astronomer, with an asteroid named after him. Maybe you too will discover something new in the sky if you try a smarter bulb in that lamp to ease your eyes, then go outside and enjoy the stars and planets.  (back)

January 13, 2025. Sweet Dreams and Dark Nights

There is worldwide growing interest in repairing the damage we’ve done to earth’s light-dark cycles of day and night as we learn how life responds to those rhythms for normal functioning. Outdoor lights affect all life, but today I’d like to talk about our indoor lighting.

A career in health care showed me that many of us struggle with getting ‘a good night’s sleep’. We’ve always connected ‘night’ and sleep, but now our artificial lights are on almost all the time, removing the natural night conditions indoors and, to our dismay, removing our ability to sleep well.

You can improve your sleep over time by taking some simple steps to change your home lighting at night. Make a few changes and notice what happens over a few weeks as your mind and body get used to a more natural environment. This won’t replace essential medical treatment, but can be a significant factor in insomnia, depression and other problems. So fix the ongoing cause as well as get medical attention if needed.

Look around your home after sunset. If the lights are white or blue, change any you can to a warmer, yellow color. If you need a very bright white light turn it off any time not using it. Since most of us stare at a bright screen far too many hours a day, it is a big factor in your brain switching to a resting, sleep state. Go to ‘settings’ and ‘display’ and turn the brightness way down in the evening. Most computers have a night setting that is a more natural, yellow color. Use that too! The quick setting change in evening and morning to adjust your screen gives your brain a chance to respond to more normal day-night conditions. Change your lights and let sweet dreams back into your life.  (back)

January 6, 2025   Seeing Stars and Moons

A few nights ago I stood out in the dark enjoying Jupiter and Saturn shining high in the sky. Both were brighter than any star, compelling me to retrieve binoculars to see these giant planets more clearly. Moons floated around Jupite; we can see four with binoculars but there are at least 79! We are used to seeing one large moon overhead, but looking at another planet with many moons surrounding it always reawakens my wonder at the complexities of not just our world, but the universe we share with so many unknown worlds. 

The next few weeks hold many reasons to go out at any time of night to look for stars and planets. Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn will all be visible without binoculars, but once you see them, use binoculars to see the moons of Jupiter, rings of Saturn, and phases of Venus.

Moons are fascinating. Earth and Mars have similar, rocky moons, but Jupiter and Saturn have many moons and some of them have active volcanoes,  extremely strong radiation fields, liquid seas under thick ice, or are made of ice and gas, or rocks and ice. Some are smooth, some full of craters. Some look like odd pieces of rock, not round at all. Do any of these moons hold the beginnings of some sort of life? Why are they each so different? 

Whatever is going on in the far reaches of our solar system, the night sky has inspired humans since we first looked upward. The stars and planets still inspire our imagination, teach us about our own world and guide us in our travels, but also guide migrating birds, whales in the sea and insects everywhere. The night sky now needs our attention and care, the same as clean water and air need our care. All are connected and essential for life.  (back)

December 30, 2024   Nova Star

Earlier in the year I mentioned a predicted ‘nova’ star would occur sometime this year. The year is almost over and the star, T Corona Borealis, has not yet flared into a nova. But it will! Novas are rare, interesting phenomena.

You may have heard of ‘supernova’ stars. These are stars that explode at the end of their lives, sometimes giving off as much light as a whole galaxy. Examples are the Crab Nebula, which was a supernova in 1064 seen by Chinese astronomers. It was so bright it was visible in daytime. The most recent one was Kepler’s Supernova, in 1604, which was visible without telescopes.

A ‘nova’ is a star that brightens dramatically but is not dying. All novas are made of a white dwarf star and a red giant star orbiting each other. The white dwarf star absorbs matter from the red giant until it reaches the ignition temperature of hydrogen. Then it flares brightly as the extra material burns away, then the white dwarf cools and the cycle begins again.

T Corona Borealis brightens about every 80 years after dimming for a period of time. It will be visible for only a day when it flares, and will be about as bright as Polaris, the North Star, but this is a rare event so if you have access to a telescope it will be a special sight. If you don’t have a way to see the nova flare, look for pictures others take of the event. An excellent site is NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day. Or simply search for the star name.

When you are looking at the night sky, learn where Hercules is located. If you are lucky to be looking up when the nova flares, you will have an experience very few humans have ever had!  (back)

December 23, 2024   Christmas Star

The Christmas Star is part of the Christian Christmas story most of us know who grew up in the Midwest. This ‘star’ shone brightly long enough to guide travelers some distance to find the Christ child. At that time in history, the skies were very dark and clear and any astronomical event would have been much more impressive than today in our dimmed skies. But what was the Christmas star? There has been much debate about that for a long time. 

One theory posits a comet as the Christmas Star. Chinese astronomers saw a ‘broom star’ in 5BC, but comets were commonly thought of as harbingers of doom, so if seen in the Middle East, would not likely be considered a good omen.

Supernovas are documented throughout history and now astronomers can analyze the remnants of them and approximate the time of explosion. The closest possible supernova was in 158AD, a long time after the beginning of the millennium.

There were close conjunctions of bright planets over several years at that time. Jupiter, Venus and Saturn danced closely around each other several times in the years just before and after the time we date the first Christmas. To early sky watchers, these events would have been meaningful. In 2020 Jupiter and Saturn were 1/10th of a degree apart, making a dramatically bright star-like sight many of us enjoyed and would have been similar in brightness to some of the conjunctions seen two millennia ago.

After all the centuries, we still do not know exactly what made the Christmas Star. Knowing how something works often adds to the wonder, but this mystery may never be solved. Even though long past away, it shines in the Christmas Story to amaze everyone.  (back)

December 16, 2024   Golf Courses

Concerns about losing our dark night skies is spreading across the nation, and around the world. On December 11th the Washington Post had an opinion piece,  ‘The Post’s View’, about how quickly we are polluting the night sky and also carried the news that it is a problem we can solve. Other national news sources have been running articles about this growing concern. I’m a big fan of finding practical solutions that are cost effective for any problem, and here’s one I hadn’t thought of for protecting dark skies…golf courses! 

Most golf courses are not lighted at night and so create an area of no artificial lights. At least a third of US golf courses are Audubon certified because they make efforts to use native plants and create habitat for birds. The dark skies improve the livability of the golf courses for wildlife attracted to the water and plants there, and people like being able to see stars from their nearby yards, so wildlife, human residents and golf courses all benefit.

In 2019 France adopted the most progressive light pollution policies in the world, with lighting curfews, significantly reduced glare, and the strictest limits on emissions of blue light. France has banned lasers, skybeams, lit waterways and other light trespasses. There are 40 golf courses in Normandy, France that are  part of an ‘emerald necklace’ preserving the region’s natural landscapes, and dark skies are an integral part of the design.

In Baja, Mexico several large golf communities have carefully designed lighting requirements, with no more than 25W lights used outdoors and no upward shining lights.

We can learn from what others are doing that works and add our improved lighting to the efforts others are making around the world. Then we can all go outside and enjoy the beauty of the stars.  (back)

December 9, 2024   December Star Gazing

To start December and the winter season, here are some highlights for winter stargazing. December is the start of the best star gazing time of year, when cold, clear air makes the stars shine brightly. Keep your binoculars by the door and step out for a few minutes on those cold nights to see some of the most beautiful night skies.

Start by looking for Jupiter early in the month. On December 7th the giant planet is closest to earth for this year, rising in the east at sunset and setting in the west at the end of the night. Look between the horns of Taurus and left of bright Aldebaran.

The moon makes many beautiful arrangements with the stars this month. The waxing crescent moon will float near Saturn in the southern sky after dusk, always a beautiful sight as the last sunset colors fade. December 13 the moon will be near the Pleiades star cluster. This is worth getting your binoculars out for. The Pleiades are famous as one of the most beautiful sights in the night sky. The moon close by will dim their brilliance so be sure to look for them in a couple weeks, in darker skies. December 14th an almost full moon rises with Jupiter nearby and they float upward into the night with yellow Capella to the left and red Aldebaran to the right. December 15th the full moon rises at sunset and sets at sunrise. Have as much fun as you can by watching both! In winter months the full moon rises as high in the sky at midnight as the summer sun rises at noon. 

The Geminid meteor shower peaks December 13, but for several nights before that many colorful shooting stars can be seen in an hour. Moon, planets, falling stars and big constellations make this month one of the best for seeing stars.  (back)

December 1, 2024  Space Station

There are always humans above us in space. When looking at the night sky, have you seen the International Space Station zooming overhead? Check NASA’s Spot the Station page for times it passes overhead. The sun reflects off the metal surface making it easy to see.

Did you know there is a Chinese Space Station, called Tiangong, in low earth orbit? Tiangong means ‘heavenly palace’, a beautiful name for a place that might not feel like a palace for living accomodations. Three people live there, doing scientific experiments similar to the work done on the ISS.

Sometimes we see Tiangong moving across the sky when we are star gazing at the Kickapoo Valley Reserve. Sometimes we see the ISS and there is no way to tell the difference without looking at a schedule.

The Chinese crew has dining options that sound good to me, for I love Chinese food. After the first days in space the astronauts demanded more vegetables and now have 32 to choose from. Their menu has 120 types of food, all favorites chosen by the crews.

When the crews change, each new crew member brings a gift for the crew members leaving the station. It would be fun to see what gifts are chosen to exchange in space.

Scientists from many countries participate in the work on Tiangong, just as they do for the ISS and China plans on using international crews in the future. Tiangong has been in orbit for only two years, and is expected to be useful for 10-15 years. 

As our countries struggle to find ways to get along, there are many people everywhere who are working and learning together on shared goals of something good for everyone in the future. So as each space station soars overhead, wave and wish them well.  (back)

November 25, 2024  Night Walking

Suddenly the nights seem longer, it must be close to winter! Now it’s dark before many of us have had supper. That’s inconvenient for some of the things we would like to do, but long winter nights are the best time to star gaze and to walk at night. We don’t have to keep the kids up late to see a special planet or the milky way. Here are some tips to enjoy winter night walking and star gazing.

Bundle up! Standing still to watch stars means you won’t be as warm as when briskly walking. Take binoculars, the best tool to see star clusters, planets and the moon. Make sure you have a red light. Red painter’s tape over your flashlight bulb works well, or if your headlamp has a red beam be sure to use that. And leave the phone buried in your pocket. Its light is too bright.

Never turn on a white light because it ruins your night vision for some time. Pilots and sailors know to use red light to read charts at night. Red light also does not disturb animals nearby. It allows our eyes to stay adapted to darkness and see into shadows and to see movement and details of objects in the dark.

Take your time walking, stop frequently to listen and look around. When vision is not the primary sense more time is needed to recognize smells, sounds and what we feel. Air temperature and the lay of the ground under foot can help us find our way. 

A slow stroll into the dark, supported by red light if needed can bring the half of our day that is dark, with all its beauty, into our lives. Turn out the light, go outside and enjoy the stars!  (back)

November 18, 2024   Glare

I’m learning about good lighting now because our dark skies are being affected by excessive and poorly designed lighting, and the stars are disappearing behind a haze of light. One aspect of poor lighting is glare.

I’d never thought of glare as a ‘veil’ but it really is a curtain of light across the retina that blocks our vision from seeing through it, reducing our ability to discern shapes and edges of objects. While looking into an area that seems clearly lit we cannot see objects in the shadows if there is glare.

Most of the time we don’t consider glare from a light when installing it, but glare from poorly designed lighting is dangerous. Think of the approaching driver who does not dim their lights. For those moments you cannot see much of anything and that does not feel good. Experiment by walking toward a glaring light while paying attention to what you actually can and cannot see. Do you squint, cover your eyes? Maybe the light could be better!

And not least, your neighbors will appreciate your use of night friendly lights. Unshielded light shines in your neighbor’s eyes and even into their homes, forcing them to buy special blinds to block the light, and preventing them from controlling the light on their property. An easy way to be a good neighbor is also an easy way to save money and have more efficient lighting. 

This is one problem that we can change, and in doing so many other problems are improved. The cost is low, and the benefits are immediate, long lasting, and far reaching. 

Check out www.darksky.org and https://en.cieletoilemontmegantic.org  to find out how easy it is to make lighting work better for you and your neighbors too. Change that bulb, then go out and enjoy the stars!  (back)

November 11, 2024  Astronomy Lights

Mid November always feels like the beginning of winter to me, even though autumn lasts on the calendar into December. The cold nights bring clear  skies, which make excellent conditions for star gazing. This month Jupiter rises earlier each evening and floats near the winter constellation Orion. Orion has several very bright and probably familiar stars. Betelguese and Rigel and the three bright stars of the hunter’s belt are often the first stars many people learn to recognize.

The Leonid meteor shower peaks on November 17 and 18. This shower is famous for bright, colorful and very fast falling stars. Colors tend to be blue, green or white and may stream long tails. The Leonids are traveling at 44 miles per second!

The full moon on the 15th is another ‘super moon’, which means it is as close to earth as it gets, making it seem larger and brighter than usual. It shares the sky with the Leonid meteors to make a beautiful light show.

If your yard light is shielded to prevent light pollution and using a night friendly bulb that is close to 2000K, which is a warm temperature color, you can have safety, utility and the night sky. Well designed lights cause less glare to blind you and hide objects in the shadows, making it safer to move around after dark, and the falling stars will be easy to see too.

Night friendly lighting provides light that actually improves safety while allowing the night back into our lives. Birds can migrate, insects find their way, owls hunt and humans get a good night’s sleep as well as continue to enjoy and marvel at the moon and stars.

For information on where to find smart, night friendly lighting contact redshiftelectric@gmail.com   (back)

November 4, 2024  State Meeting

This week you can join a free event to learn about what others are doing for dark skies in Wisconsin. On Thursday, November 7, 2024 at 7pm, DarkSky Wisconsin will host a state wide zoom meeting with information about what’s going on in Wisconsin to protect and restore dark skies. This is the link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84902745281    Passcode: 727078

There will be brief presentations from representatives of five areas that have dark sky initiatives. Scott Lind and I will talk about what’s going on in the Kickapoo Valley area. There will be time for listeners to connect with others, share your interest and participate in developing ideas for education and restoration of dark skies in our state. So please check this out, your input is valuable. If you don’t want to participate, join and listen, everyone is welcome.

DarkSky Wisconsin is the new Wisconsin chapter of DarkSky International  https://darksky.org/  

The chapter aims to unite communities across the state in efforts to protect the natural night 

environment, promote responsible outdoor lighting, and raise awareness about the negative 

impacts of light pollution on wildlife, human health, and the environment. 

Their website is https://starryskiesnorth.org/darkskyssn-wi

You can find them on Facebook at  https://www.facebook.com/groups/darkskywisconsin

Remember to turn off the lights, go outside and enjoy the stars.

As with the state wide meeting on November 7th, the monthly DarkSky Wisconsin meetings welcome you to ‘drop in’ and find out about their projects and who they are. Scientists, teachers, astronomers and those who love starry skies can be found there.

Meanwhile, step outside after the sun goes down. Breathe the cool night air, let your eyes relax in the twilight and spend a few minutes in the quiet as the curtain of night is pulled across the sky.  (back)

October 28, 2024     Safety

Nights are getting longer as winter approaches. Many of us will be traveling, doing chores or being outside for a variety of reasons after dark. Since humans developed artificial light we have been making lights brighter and brighter. We naturally are more active in daytime, are most familiar seeing the world sunlit and feel safe when we can see clearly. Bright lights make us feel safe but the truth is very bright lights and the glare they cause make us less safe.

Think of driving at night when someone does not dim their headlights as they approach your car. Your vision is impaired while staring into the oncoming light. Glare from bright lights makes all surrounding areas more dark. You are less able to see shapes and movement because your eyes cannot adjust to the extreme contrast between bright light and darkness. 

Around the corner where the light doesn’t shine, the doorway where you cannot see the keyhole, the steps under a floodlight that have shadows on them prevent clearly seeing what is there.

Good lighting that increases security and safety is directed only to the area where it is needed and is only as bright as needed. It does not cause glare. All these features mean it also does not waste energy and so costs less.  (back)

October 28, 2024   Fall Senses

The days are getting noticeably shorter and fall is in the air. We think of taking a walk and enjoying the fall colors but fall is also a good time to walk at night when colors fade but other aspects of the land are more noticeable. The open space above our heads where all those leaves used to be gives a new view of the sky as well as the intricate patterns of branches against the sunset or starry sky.

Cloudy fall nights are a good time to practice using your nose and ears, which work better when we can’t see as much. Walk slowly or stop and sit quietly. Wait. After a few minutes, which will seem like a long time, sounds and scents can be noticed. Each animal makes a different sound as they move or talk among themselves in the dark. Each tree and grass has a different scent. Can you tell the difference between an oak and a maple using your nose? Can you tell the difference between a mouse and a bird rustling in the bushes by listening?

Between sunset and night the air temperature changes, especially in the fields and meadows. Where does the cool air come from? What spots stay warm the longest into night? Do the scents from grasses and trees change as the temperature changes? 

All these changes affect the plants and animals, telling them about weather and seasonal changes, where food is and more. They use their ears and noses as much or more than their eyes at night. Our enjoyment of the woods and fields can expand into the night by using all our senses too.

Dark skies are for everyone. Remember to step outside, turn off the lights and enjoy the night. Check out https://darksky.org for information.  (back)

October 21, 2024   Night Vision

Did you know many animals see things humans cannot see at night? Mice and other rodents can see ultra-violet light. Some seeds, plants, flowers, and other animals reflect and see ultra-violet light. Mice have only 1% green-sensitive cone color receptors in their eyes. Most of their eye receptors are rods for recognizing light and dark. Humans have many red, green and blue-sensitive cone receptors for colors. The world looks different to a mouse!

Raccoons see very well in the dark because they have a special layer of cells in their eyes called the tapetum lucidum. This layer reflects light that has entered the eye back through the retina a second time, increasing the available light for the brain to interpret.

Snakes have another adaptation to light and darkness. Snakes that hunt during the day have lenses that block UV light so they can see clearly in bright daylight. Snakes that hunt at night have lens that let more UV light in so they see better in the dark.

Human eyes adapt to natural darkness over several hours. In darkness pupils dilate in a matter of seconds, our cones adapt in 10 minutes, and our rods adapt completely after several hours. Exposure to a bright light ruins your night vision again, and you must wait a while for your eyes to adapt to the darkness. Astronomers know to keep away from bright lights for a quite a while before trying to see faint stars. 

If you are planning to enjoy the night sky or talk a walk after dark, remember to give your eyes some time to adjust. Then turn off the lights and enjoy the night. There’s more to see after dark!  (back)

October 14, 2024   Aurora 

For one night, forget the stars! The Northern Lights, or aurora borealis were the show last Thursday night. Did you see them? Just after dark they gradually began glowing until a display rarely seen here lit up the sky. Green, white and bright red curtains of light rose from east, north and west horizons all the way to the center of the sky. They changed constantly in size, shape, and brightness. The waxing half moon low in the southeast and a few of the brightest stars peaking through the curtains of light made a great show for more than two hours.

Aurora can be spectacular at our latitude during the peak of solar storm cycles, which occur approximately every eleven years. The strength of earth’s geomagnetic activity correlates with solar cycles and the sun’s magnetic poles switch at the peak of each cycle. As the sun’s activity increases streams of particles are ejected into space and sometimes the earth passes through one of these particle streams. When this occurs the particles from the sun interact with

 magnetically charged particles in the doughnut shaped Van Allen belt region around the poles, 30-600 miles above us. When struck by the sun’s plasma particles oxygen molecules glow green at lower altitudes and red at very high altitudes. Nitrogen molecules glow blue or purple. Yellow and pink are a rare combination of other colors.

There may be more aurora in the coming months. Check www.spaceweather.com or other sites for forecasts and information.

Remember to turn off your outside lights. Go outside and enjoy the most beautiful light show on earth, the night sky.  (back)

October 7, 2024  Jupiter Comet

This week our Kickapoo dark skies offer two special sights. The first is a view of Europa, one of Jupiter’s moons. Get the binoculars out, wake up early on October 11, and look east before sunrise. One of Jupiter’s moons, Europa, will be easily visible off to the side of the bright planet. Did you know Jupiter has at least 90 other moons? Jupiter’s moons form a satellite system called the Jovian system. 

It is possible to see Jupiter’s moons move around the planet by looking frequently, or on successive nights.

The second reason to check the night sky is that Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS is coming our way. It is named after the two observatories that discovered it, one in China and one in South Africa. As it rounds the sun and heads back into space we will be able to see it from October 12 for a few days. Look in the southwest sky just after nightfall, 10 degrees above the horizon, using binoculars.

Comets are made of ice, gases and pieces of rock. They are ‘dirty snowballs’ from outer space. The tail of a comet always streams away from the sun, blown by solar winds. When a comet approaches the sun its tail blows away behind it but when leaving the sun’s orbit the tail blows ahead of the comet.

Our skies once were so clear and dark that people living here before electric lights saw Jupiter’s moons without binoculars. Let’s work together to protect our dark sky heritage. Learn why dark skies are important for you as well as the birds and animals. Visit darksky.org and https://en.cieletoilemontmegantic.org/ for lighting information.

Remember to turn off, shield, or dim your outdoor lights for the birds and animals. Enjoy the night!  (back)

September 29, 2024. Owls

Have you ever wondered how an owl finds tiny mice in the dark? When I was a child I tried to be like an owl and find my way under the trees in the dark but never could see the mice and rabbits the owls found. My eyes are not made for seeing in the dark, when the owl’s eye works best. 

Owl eyes have more rods for catching light than cones for seeing color. Their pupils can enlarge more than ours, and unlike a round human eyeball, an owl’s eye is tubular, so they are far-sighted in low light. They see small things clearly at a distance. The tiny mouse, invisible to us, is easy for the owl to see in the shadows on the dark forest floor or under thick meadow grass.

Glare from bright unshielded outdoor lights travels long distances, reducing night vision far from the source of light. If you are lucky enough to have an owl hunting nearby, the rodent populations near your home will be affected. But if glare from bright lights interfere with the owls’ night vision they might go hungry. Help the owls out by turning off the outdoor lights when you are not outside. Install a motion sensor, or at least a timer set for two or three hours after dark. Then when the lights are off, go outside with the owls and look at the stars.

For information on Dark Skies explore  https://darksky.org/   (back)

September 22, 2024   Dark Skies General Information

The moon is waning this week, the sky is getting darker, but is it dark enough? That’s a question many biologists and astronomers have been asking. The answer is unfortunately, no, the sky is not dark enough.

Until recently we have not thought much about looking up to see a night sky full of bright, twinkling stars. The KVR, MVC and Wildcat Mountain SP have spent three years in the process of becoming an International Dark Sky Park, with one of the darkest skies in the Midwest. Last fall, our skies brightened enough to eliminate this area from being eligible for certification.

Naturally dark night skies are the other half of sunlit days. When nights are not dark enough, almost all animals and plants are affected, and many cannot function normally. Sleep disturbance, heart ailments, diabetes, and more are influenced by bright light at night. 

  Bird migration is disrupted, reproductive cycles in insects and animals are disturbed and tadpoles develop abnormally. Light crosses property lines and can be as much of a nuisance to neighbors as noise pollution.

We need light so we can easily move around at night, for safety in some places, for streets and roads. But much of the light we pay for goes up into the sky and is of no use to us. Poorly directed light creates glare that reduces our ability to see. Lights that shine when no one is nearby waste our money.

What can we do? First, turn off outside lights when not being used. If you must have security lights, use motion sensors. Install timers or dimmers. All these options are low cost and save money over time. Learn about dark skies from darksky.org. Then come outside with us and enjoy the stars. They are part of our heritage, and not least, they are free for everyone.  (back)