TY - CONF T1 - 35. Visualizing the Effects of Light Pollution on the Local Night Sky AU - Froetschel, Joseph AB - Recently there has been a lot of concern about the loss of our night sky. The growth of towns and cities creates an ever-encroaching threat of light pollution. The University of North Georgia’s Observatory is very much affected by this threat as new services and facilities are built closer in proximity to Dahlonega, Ga. When people try to find information about the local light pollution, they are most likely to find a light pollution map online. These maps are generally depicted as a top down view of the Earth. However, we believe this does not provide an intuitive understanding of the threat. We wish to provide a different perspective that allows people to better comprehend the damage to our local sky. We have begun constructing a device to measure a 360-degree view of the light pollution affecting the local night sky. We are currently designing and manufacturing a mount that can accurately survey the entire sky and record data from a sky quality measurement device. From this data we will build a map showing the effects of light pollution. We will use this map in an educational setting like UNG’s Cole Planetarium to promote local dark sky conservation efforts, and the data will be accessible for students with an astronomy focus to plan out the best possible times for quality observations once the new UNG Observatory is finished. DA - 2020-3-13 PY - 2024 PB - unav N1 -

Acknowledgements:

Gregory Feiden

ER -