Fun Facts

1 Light Year = 6.25 trillion miles

1 Light Year = 6,250,000,000,000 miles

1 Astronomical Unit (AU) = The average distance between the sun and the earth…. 93,000,000 miles.

Visual Magnitude = The apparent brightness of an object. This was originally designed to indicate that some stars were bright -- mag 1 -- while others were very dim -- mag 5. As quick note, a mag 1 star is 2.5 times brighter than a mag 2 star. A mag 1 star is 2.5 * 2.5, or 6.25, times brighter than a mag 3 … and so on… and so on…

The advent of the modern telescope has pushed the dimmest objects seen to about mag 30!!  That’s 860 trillion times dimmer than Saturn!!!

Light Pollution

We are losing our heritage of starry nights. Artificial light in the night sky threatens to destroy the spectacular views the heavens offer. This “light pollution” wastes energy and provides no benefit to society.

You can help!

Simply turn off exterior lights when they’re not needed. Or better yet, use motion detectors so your lights are only on when they’re needed. This can also enhance home security while saving money.

Use properly shielded fixtures and efficient bulbs. This will have the added benefit of allowing you to reduce the wattage of lights used and save additional money.