The Campaign to Protect Rural England Star Count campaign has been running since the beginning of February and encourages the general public to help “reclaim our dark skies”.
They’re calling on you to head out at night and count how many stars you can see inside the constellation of Orion (tips on how to do this here).
The Star Count runs until 23 February, so you have a few more days to check out the night skies and report back.
Astronomy Presentation
On the penultimate night of the Star Count (Friday 22nd Feb) why not head to Newchurch Pavillion to hear a talk by John Slinn on Basic Solar observing and imaging?
Find out more about the talk and The Vectis Astronomical Society by popping over to our listings site Events OnTheWight.
How to do the star count
Tips on how to do this are:
On a clear night, after 7pm so the sky is really dark, take a few moments to let your eyes adjust, then simply count the number of stars you can see within the rectangle made by the four corner stars of Orion.
You should not count the corners, but you can count the three stars in the middle – the belt
Click on image to see larger version
Head over to the CPRE Website for more information and to share your findings.
Image: adrian pelletier under CC BY 2.0
