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About UsThe Grand Traverse Astronomical Society is a nonprofit organization dedicated to to education and enjoyment of the night sky. Established in 1982, the GTAS has about 30 members from the Traverse City and the Grand Traverse area of northern Michigan. Meetings are held on the first Friday of every month beginning at 8 p.m. at Northwestern Michigan College's Joseph H. Rogers Observatory, though the August meeting is preempted by the annual picnic at another location. Guests are always welcome to our meetings. Over 750 attended the society sponsored Comet Hyakutake Watches March 23, and 24th, 1996. The farthest traveler came from Detroit to enjoy the dark skies and the spectacular comet through many telescopes. Comet Hale-Bopp attracted approximately 1,400 during the three scheduled viewing nights that were clear. We've
hit the road, so to speak, with outreach beyond the NMC
Observatory since 2007. Since 2011 we've held monthly star
parties at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore from April to
October with additional eclipse and meteor shower watches. We
bring our telescopes and exhibits to several festivals around the
area along with Friday Night Live in Traverse City. Since 2010
the society has been hosting monthly star parties at the Sleeping
Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Two of our members are also NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassadors. |
Upcoming Society Events Friday, March 7 – 8 pm, Monthly meeting and star party at NMC Rogers Observatory. Also available via Zoom. 8 pm – General meeting: Bob Moler – Lunar eclipses in history and the upcoming eclipse of March 14, 2025 9 pm – Star party if clear. Zoom Meeting Instructions: Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/8388913229?omn=86271806338
Meeting
ID: 838 891 3229
Meeting
ID: 838 891 3229 Friday, April 4 – 8 pm, Monthly meeting and star party at NMC Rogers Observatory. Also available via Zoom. 8 pm – General meeting Topic: Astronomy advances outside the Western World 9 pm – Star party if clear. Check here often for other events that may pop up during the month. Star parties at the Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore are expected to resume in late spring 2025. This article is distributed by NASA Night Sky Network
February’s Night Sky Notes: How Can You Help Curb Light Pollution?
By Dave Prosper
Before and after pictures of replacement lighting at the 6th Street Bridge over the Los Angeles River. The second picture shows improvements in some aspects of light pollution, as light is not directed to the sides and upwards from the upgraded fixtures, reducing skyglow. However, it also shows the use of brighter, whiter LEDs, which is not generally ideal, along with increased light bounce back from the road. Image Credit: The City of Los Angeles Light pollution has long troubled astronomers, who generally shy away from deep sky observing under full Moon skies. The natural light from a bright Moon floods the sky and hides views of the Milky Way, dim galaxies and nebula, and shooting stars. In recent years, human-made light pollution has dramatically surpassed the interference of even a bright full Moon, and its effects are now noticeable to a great many people outside of the astronomical community. Harsh, bright white LED streetlights, while often more efficient and long-lasting, often create unexpected problems for communities replacing their older streetlamps. Some notable concerns are increased glare and light trespass, less restful sleep, and disturbed nocturnal wildlife patterns. There is increasing awareness of just how much light is too much light at night. You don't need to give in to despair over encroaching light pollution; you can join efforts to measure it, educate others, and even help stop or reduce the effects of light pollution in your community. Amateur astronomers and potential citizen scientists around the globe are invited to participate in the Globe at Night (GaN) program to measure light pollution. Measurements are taken by volunteers on a few scheduled days every month and submitted to their database to help create a comprehensive map of light pollution and its change over time. GaN volunteers can take and submit measurements using multiple methods ranging from low-tech naked-eye observations to high-tech sensors and smartphone apps. Globe at Night citizen scientists can use the following methods to measure light pollution and submit their results:
Night Sky Network members joined a telecon with Connie Walker of Globe at Night in 2014 and had a lively discussion about the program's history and how they can participate. The audio of the telecon, transcript, and links to additional resources can be found on their dedicated resource page.
Light pollution has been visible from space for a long time, but new LED lights are bright enough that they stand out from older streetlights, even from orbit. Astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti took the above photo from the ISS cupola in 2015. The newly installed white LED lights in the center of the city of Milan are noticeably brighter than the lights in the surrounding neighborhoods. Image Credit: NASA/ESA The International Dark-Sky Association (IDA) has long been a champion in the fight against light pollution and a proponent of smart lighting design and policy. Their website provides many resources for amateur astronomers and other like-minded people to help communities understand the negative impacts of light pollution and how smart lighting policies can not only help bring the stars back to their night skies but also make their streets safer by using smarter lighting with less glare. Communities and individuals find that their nighttime lighting choices can help save considerable sums of money when they decide to light their streets and homes "smarter, not brighter" with shielded, directional lighting, motion detectors, timers, and even choosing the proper "temperature" of new LED light replacements to avoid the harsh "pure white" glare that many new streetlamps possess. Their pages on community advocacy and on how to choose dark-sky-friendly lighting are extremely helpful and full of great information. There are even local chapters of the IDA in many communities made up of passionate advocates of dark skies. The IDA has notably helped usher in "Dark Sky Places", areas around the world that are protected from light pollution. "Dark Sky Parks", in particular, provide visitors with incredible views of the Milky Way and are perfect places to spot the wonders of a meteor shower. These parks also perform a very important function, showing the public the wonders of a truly dark sky to many people who may have never before even seen a handful of stars in the sky, let alone the full glorious spread of the Milky Way. More research into the negative effects of light pollution on the health of humans and the environment is being conducted than ever before. Watching the nighttime light slowly increase in your neighborhood, combined with reading so much bad news, can indeed be disheartening! However, as awareness of light pollution and its negative effects increases, more people are becoming aware of the problem and want to be part of the solution. There is even an episode of PBS Kid's SciGirls where the main characters help mitigate light pollution in their neighborhood! Astronomy clubs are uniquely situated to help spread awareness of good lighting practices in their local communities to help mitigate light pollution. Take inspiration from Tucson, Arizona, and other dark sky-friendly communities that have adopted good lighting practices. Tucson even reduced its skyglow by 7% (as of 2018) after its own citywide lighting conversion, proof that communities can bring the stars back with smart lighting choices. Originally posted by Dave Prosper: November 2018 Last Updated by Kat Troche: January 2025 |
LinksFor Kids: NASA’s Space Place website The Space Place is a NASA website for elementary school-aged kids, their teachers, and their parents.
It has over 150 separate modules for kids, including hands-on projects, interactive games, animated cartoons, and amazing facts about space and Earth science and technology. See this month's NASA Night Sky Network article at the bottom of the center panel on this page. Also check out these two sites for kids: NASA's Climate Kids and NOAA's SciJinks Bob Moler's Ephemeris contains audio mp3s of current Ephemeris programs; calendars of sunrise, sunset,moonrise and moonset for the Grand Traverse area of Michigan, and other locations in northern Michigan; plus a monthly star chart. Also Bob's Ephemeris Blog with daily transcripts of and illustrations for his Ephemeris programs on Interlochen Public Radio. Wednesday’s program looks at where the bright planets are along with finder charts. Northwestern Michigan College's Joseph H. Rogers Observatory If you'd like to donateFrom Article II, B of the Articles of Incorporation of the Grand Traverse Astronomical Society: The Society shall operate a scientific and educational organization with the goal of increasing interest in, the knowledge and enjoyment of astronomy; cooperate with similar organizations; and cooperate with Northwestern Michigan College to increase the benefit of the college observatory to the community. As you can see by the statement above the society is inexorably linked to the Joseph H. Rogers observatory. However in the past number of years members have been also taking telescopes out into the community, on sidewalks and street corners, and in the street on Friday Night Live, and to the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. We find that many folks in the area have never been out to the observatory. This way we are going to to the public. And having a huge telescope is really a great attraction, not to mention the superb views of the heavens it will provide. We have purchased a 25 inch Dobsonian telescope with trailer to use and to take around for our outreach program. We have also purchased two solar telescopes to view the Sun's prominences and chromosphere. We have recently purchased small telescopes to give to libraries for them to lend out. The first two recipients are Traverse Area District Library and Betsie Valley District Library. Enerdyne of Suttons Bay donated the second telescope.. You may contribute to the fund to help us upgrade and add accessories to the society's telescopes by mailing a check to the GTAS, c/o the society treasurer Gary Carlisle, 1473 Birmley Rd, Traverse City, MI 49686. We are a 501(c)(3) non profit organization. Donations are tax deductible. Thank You! |
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