The New Moon is on Wednesday, 2nd March which means the skies are dark and, when clear, the stars and constellations are much easier to see.
The best way to see how many stars we can all see in the sky is… to count them! We are very fortunate where we live when it comes to light polloution. The Countryside Charity are asking people from all across the country to become ‘citizen scientists’ and look heavenwards for one night. Join in by choosing a clear night from tonight, 26th February to 6th March 2022 and become a stargazer. It’s happening now – don’t miss out!
With brilliant support from the British Astronomical Association, they want you to look up at the constellation Orion and let them know how many stars you can count. Don’t worry: they’re giving you plenty of support on how to do this – click HERE. Once you’ve done your star-spotting, use their simple online form (click HERE) to quickly and easily send them your count – and then they get busy with the number-crunching.
Your results from Star Count will help them make a map of where star-spotters are enjoying deep, dark skies. By showing on a map where light pollution is most serious, they can then work with local councils and others to decide what to do about it.
Better still, Star Count is also a great way to switch off from the distractions of daily life and reconnect with nature. Look up at the cosmos and… breathe 🙂