Have you been curious to know how the Kerrville night sky compares to the dark skies of West Texas? Here’s an easy project that will tell you. Globe at Night is a citizen-science campaign to raise awareness of the impact of light pollution by inviting participants to measure and submit their night sky brightness observations.
If not managed properly, our lights can keep us from seeing our beautiful stars and have deadly consequences for birds, especially during migration.
Spring bird migratory activity through the Texas Hill Country is from March 1 – June 15. Much of their travel is done at night.
You can help protect our feathered friends simply by turning off your lights from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. during this critical travel period. Click here for a live migration map.
Using Globe at Night and helping birds migrate safely through our community are excellent ways in which you can help us keep seeing the stars in Kerrville.
Now go outside tonight and look up!
Easy Star Hunting Steps
Campaign dates coincide with moon phases to avoid the brightest times. During a campaign, go outside an hour or more after sunset (8-10 pm) and let your eyes become used to the dark for 10 minutes before your first observation. All you need to do is find the constellation assigned to the campaign date and compare what you observe to sample charts on the report page.
- If using the Globe at Night app on your phone, the date, time and location will automatically populate.
- If using the website, you fill in that information on the report page.
Choose the amount of cloud cover at the time of observation and then click on the “SUBMIT DATA” button.
The next campaign will view either Constellation Leo or Bootes from May 11-20. More information and dates can be found on the Globe at Night website.