Light pollution of the night sky in Toruń
| Title of the project | Light pollution of the night sky in Toruń |
| Primary and secondary scientific disciplines | Geography, Physic |
| Description of the project | Light pollution is a global phenomenon. It has a negative impact on the life of plants, animals and humans. In the world, measurements of the brightness of the night sky have been conducted relatively recently.
The main aim of the research project is to analyze the light pollution of the night sky in the medium-sized city, which is Toruń. The project assumes establishing a permanent measurement network monitoring the brightness of the sky at the indicated positions, which are the starting point for multi-criteria analysis of the spatial distribution of the brightness of the sky. First, I want to construct a device measuring low light intensity, corresponding to the emission of artificial light at night. The device is supposed to work automatically, processing the received signal to a known unit of light intensity and recording the result in its memory. By calibrating the device it will be possible to implement repeat observational series and it will be possible to compare results from around the world. It will also be possible to include measurements in the global monitoring network of this phenomenon. In the next stage, I will set up a measurement network, representing a different type of buildings in Toruń, enabling the implementation of repeat measurement sessions under specific astronomical, meteorological and also anthropogenic conditions for in-depth analysis of the studied phenomenon. The geostatistical analysis of the collected data will contain the spatial distribution of the phenomenon of light pollution and a wide analysis of the results in relation to specific factors and the prevailing atmospheric conditions. The result of the project implementation will be a multicriteria spatial analysis of light pollution of the night sky in Toruń. Will be determined the significance of selected factors serving the knowledge of the mechanisms of this phenomenon and its possible reductions in the future. Characteristics and main objectives of the research project: · construct a device measuring low light intensity, · creation of a measuring network, · multicriteria spatial analysis of light pollution of the night sky. The project is conducted in cooperation with: Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest (Hungary).
Principal supervisor: dr hab. Mieczysław Kunz, prof. UMK Subsidiary supervisor: dr inż. Krystian Erwiński. |