Become a Citizen Scientist: Measuring Our Night Skies with Globe at Night

Have you ever wondered how many stars you can actually see from where you live and how that simple observation can contribute to real scientific research?

Credit: NOIRLab

Join Shadow the Scientists special hands-on citizen science event, either in person at the Maunakea Visitor Information Station or virtually, to participate in the Globe at Night campaign. This international project measures light pollution by collecting observations from people around the world. Learn how to assess the brightness of the night sky and submit our own observations to a global scientific database that helps researchers monitor changes in our nighttime environment.

Many Shadow the Scientists sessions allow participants to observe scientists conducting research in real time; this session offers something even more exciting—the opportunity to become an active contributor to science yourself!

Citizen science empowers everyone, regardless of age or scientific background, to participate in the scientific process. Your observations become part of a worldwide dataset used by researchers studying light pollution and its impacts on astronomy, wildlife, energy use, and human health. Every observation matters, and together they help scientists better understand how our night skies are changing over time.

Whether you’re joining us beneath the dark skies of Maunakea or from your own backyard anywhere in the world, you’ll be helping scientists better understand our changing night skies one observation at a time.

We hope you’ll join us as we look up, collect data, and demonstrate that science is something everyone can do.