"Of all the pollution we face, light pollution is perhaps the most easily remedied". - Yerlyn Klinkenborg
"Our lives begin to end, the day we become silent about things that matter"
- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Measuring the Night Sky's Darkness
The Oregon Chapter of IDA has established a network of continuously-recording Sky Quality Meters (SQMs) in Oregon to measure skyglow. Skyglow is literally the glowing sky at night, due to both man-made artificial light and natural light. SQMs measure the brightness of the night sky and provide a measure of both light pollution and natural light at night.
The project’s primary aim is to quantitatively measure, interpret, and share skyglow measurements in Oregon to better understand the current level of light pollution in comparison to other regions and to document any changes over a five-year period. The skyglow data will help to inform action toward healthier and safer communities with less light pollution. The data will also support local efforts to nominate sites under IDA’s International Dark Sky Place Program. Here's our policy statement on the SQM project.
Here's a map showing the locations of the Sky Quality Meters in the Oregon Network
Links to Technical Reports on the Oregon Skyglow Measurement Network:
Most Recent Technical Report - Edition #7 March 6, 2023
Initial presentation: Measuring Skyglow in Central Oregon - Nov 8, 2019
A light-hearted video "How dark is the sky at night?" from IDA Montana YouTube (11 minutes)
Volunteer with the Oregon Skyglow Measurement Network - contact us at idaoregon@darksky.org
Here's how to setup and run a Sky Quality Meter:
