Earth Hour 2008 - In Gove NT
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We held our Earth Hour Observing night last night (29th March) and it was well attended by members of the public here in Gove NT, with at least 50 stargazers
turning up for the evening.
For many of these people it was the first time to an Astronomy night.
The biggest benefits are:
* I have realized we can do public observing nights on our largest oval for the town.
* Awareness has been raised that earth hour is now a global event
* Local People have realized that Individuals can make a difference.
For an observing night in town it just needs 1 or 2 sets of lights
switched off (not hard to do)and we can have an observing night that is easily accessible to the public.
I am sure the countdown has begun to next years Earth Hour already & we can all
all do something to make every hour "Earth Hour"
The Photo above shows our scopes set up for our "Earth Hour" observing night on Hindle oval Nhulunbuy NT.
I have published a detailed article on Ezine articles on this subject to show how we can all carry the success of earth hour into the future, and how this benifits your astronomy experience.
http://EzineArticles.com/?id=1077889
Discover Astronomy the Fun and Easy Way http://www.nightskysecrets.com
For USA event updates http://sternmann.livejournal.com
All Content Is © http://www.nightskysecrets.com
posted by NT Stargazer @ 7:44 AM
3 comments
3 Comments:
It was too cloudy here in Denver to observe anything, and frankly I don't think many of my neighbors observed the "lights out." On our block I think it was just us and our neighbors immediately across the street. It didn't appear that many others in the neighborhood participated, either. However, although we are in suburban Denver, there are so many businesses and streetlights around (for which it would take a governmental order to extinguish) that it didn't seem to matter than few in our neighborhood participated. It *was* already too cloudy to observe, but I don't think it mattered in our neighborhood.
I do have to say that it was too chilly for a walk (we had a dusting of snow this morning when we woke up), and although we had the lights out, we cheated a bit by watching a small TV in the dining room, and played with the dogs with a laser pointer.
I think my concern over "Earth Hour" is that may have given some folks the idea that if they participated this once, they're off the hook for the next year or so. They'll think, "Well we conserved for an hour in the dark, isn't that enough for this year?" Unfortunately, that's the way some folks think.
However, TV reports showed downtown Denver darker than usual, with many office buildings that ordinarily would have been lit (even though it was Saturday night) dimmer if not off altogether. There also were reports on restaurants and other businesses that had dimmed their lights or turned them off altogether. Finally, they ended up with a photo from Sydney showing the darkened opera house.
Larry S.
Denver, Colorado USA
Hi Larry
Great to hear about your earth hour experience.
I to share your concern that some people will be satisfied that the token effort they have made is there contribution for the year.
As the old saying goes "The journey of 1000 miles begins with a single step"
For many people this will be their first step.
Ah! Maclean, you've done it again!
After "pressurising " me to have a look at your blog, I have now done so. It was great to catch up at NACAA and thanks for the day in the mountains. Lib & I are settling back in but we are not liking it after our incredible trip.
Earth Hour here was a great success with all the resort cosmetic lighting turned off and our dark skies became even more spectacular. Even for my old eyes !!
Will get down to some serious astronomy now that our Dry Season has commenced and the skies are clearing.
Catch up soon
Raymondo
Hamilton Island Qld
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