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Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | (show all) ahopp sage Reged: 05/24/12 Re: iPhone 'SQM' app available soon ... your thots? [Re: James Cunningham]       #5710106 - 03/03/13 08:21 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Sky Quality Meter Tony Post Extras:       csa/montana Den Mama Reged: 05/14/05 Loc: montana Re: iPhone 'SQM' app available soon ... your thots? [Re: Raginar]       #5710202 - 03/03/13 09:36 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Quote: Norbert, That sounds like a really good app that'll have great effects on reducing light pollution. I can't wait to try it out. How will this app have great effects on reducing light pollution? It won't affect those that don't care about the night skies, and have bright yard lights, etc.; nor city light pollution. Just curious as to how this might benefit in reducing LP. Post Extras:       ahopp sage Reged: 05/24/12 Re: iPhone 'SQM' app available soon ... your thots? [Re: csa/montana]       #5710237 - 03/03/13 09:53 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Awareness... Post Extras:       csa/montana Den Mama Reged: 05/14/05 Loc: montana Re: iPhone 'SQM' app available soon ... your thots? [Re: ahopp]       #5710360 - 03/03/13 10:54 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Sadly, I doubt a SQM appt will have very little impact on LP; those that will use it, are already aware of LP. However, it will be a great addition for astronomers, if it's accurate! Post Extras:       Raginar Carpal Tunnel Reged: 10/19/10 Loc: Rapid CIty, SD Re: iPhone 'SQM' app available soon ... your thots? [Re: csa/montana]       #5710387 - 03/03/13 11:02 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Ahopp, I agree. It allows me to gather data that I can put into a coherent product for the masses. For instance, I could ask to have the streetlights turned off in my neighborhood, gather some data using this tool, then get the same data points (using GIS systems) with the lights on to demonstrate what an effect it has on my skies. In addition, just from a 'neighbor' standpoint, I can show them what an effect leaving on a giant flood light has on my skies too. You're right, the app won't magically reduce light pollution. But, it gives you easy access to data that can be used to aid the cause. And, if the app is priced right, it'll give us access to many more data points than we've had easy access to in the past. Finally, I'm assuming it's tied into some IDA database. This allows the IDA to gather local decentralized data from anyone with an Android/iOS device. That's a huge number of people these days. Even if you take into account AA's are a small number of those people, I guarantee you that the majority of us are using smart phones... ready access to volunteers to collect data is nice. Anyways, that's where I was going with that. What do you think? Post Extras:       csa/montana Den Mama Reged: 05/14/05 Loc: montana Re: iPhone 'SQM' app available soon ... your thots? [Re: Raginar]       #5710551 - 03/03/13 12:28 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Quote: You're right, the app won't magically reduce light pollution. But, it gives you easy access to data that can be used to aid the cause. And, if the app is priced right, it'll give us access to many more data points than we've had easy access to in the past. Finally, I'm assuming it's tied into some IDA database. This allows the IDA to gather local decentralized data from anyone with an Android/iOS device. That's a huge number of people these days. Even if you take into account AA's are a small number of those people, I guarantee you that the majority of us are using smart phones... ready access to volunteers to collect data is nice. Clarifying it in this manner, I agree! Post Extras:       core scholastic sledgehammer Reged: 02/23/08 Loc: Mostly in Norman, OK Re: iPhone 'SQM' app available soon ... your thots? [Re: Chucky]       #5710592 - 03/03/13 12:48 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Quote: Wonder if this will be more of a gimmick? In the meantime, I'll just peer skyward with my good old eyes to estimate magnitude and compare results with my astro buddies. KISS principle. The key here is 'estimate'; the SQM gives a repeatable, quantitative measure. And while it is related to how deep a magnitude you can see, it mainly measures the overall 'glow' of the sky. KISS is fine and well (and free!), and I've logged visual magnitude estimation for years, but a SQM reading is much more granular and objective - whether it's useful or something that perks your interest all depends on the individual. Post Extras:       Jeff Morgan Post Laureate Reged: 09/28/03 Loc: Prescott, AZ Re: iPhone 'SQM' app available soon ... your thots? [Re: Raginar]       #5710806 - 03/03/13 02:57 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   When observing from the house I notice that around 11 PM the sky starts getting better, presumably as people go to bed and start shutting down lighting. One could take readings during the night to show this, and extrapolate to what could happen if the big and unneeded light sources could be shut down. I think it will also be useful to compare observing sites on a relative basis. Post Extras:       johnpd sage Reged: 04/13/08 Re: iPhone 'SQM' app available soon ... your thots? [Re: Nop]       #5711771 - 03/03/13 11:54 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Hi Norbert, I tried several from a dark room inside the house. I got a number of "Invalid, Retry" errors. The skies may clear later on. Will try again outside. JohnD Post Extras:       CharlesW sage Reged: 11/02/12 Loc: Chula Vista & Indio, CA Re: iPhone 'SQM' app available soon ... your thots? [Re: johnpd]       #5711803 - 03/04/13 12:29 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Unfortunately municipalities will not turn off street lights on a wholesale basis. Too much liability after some knucklehead kills themselves on a road and their family sues the city/county because the road was "unsafe". There are whole divisions set up to handle exactly these issues. Post Extras:       Nop Vendor (iPushto) Reged: 02/12/06 Loc: Netherlands, Valkenburg Re: iPhone 'SQM' app available soon ... your thots? [Re: CharlesW]       #5712007 - 03/04/13 07:15 AM Attachment (12 downloads) Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   We made great progress with our Dark Sky Meter app. The iPhone 4S and Unihedron SQM are on par. We are finalizing the 5. Next up will be the iPhone 4 and iPads. The pro version has a (cached!) live map view containing all valid SQM readings made by the app users worldwide. The app uses 'facebook' style navigation. @core We started testing with the 4S and the results were that close to a SQM (with the SQM sometimes more 'jumpy' than the 4S)that we decided to continue the project. At daytime i am working on a spectroscopy app for the astronomy department of the Leiden University. So i'm getting an expert on iPhone sensors @JohnPD, thanks for Testing, currently we are evaluating the results. Edited by Nop (03/04/13 07:16 AM) Post Extras:       JMW scholastic sledgehammer Reged: 02/11/07 Loc: Nevada Re: iPhone 'SQM' app available soon ... your thots? [Re: Nop]       #5712751 - 03/04/13 03:36 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   I like the crowd sourcing potential for updating light pollution maps. It would also be a great awareness tool. Post Extras:       Jeff Morgan Post Laureate Reged: 09/28/03 Loc: Prescott, AZ Re: iPhone 'SQM' app available soon ... your thots? [Re: CharlesW]       #5712796 - 03/04/13 03:59 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Quote: Unfortunately municipalities will not turn off street lights on a wholesale basis. Too much liability after some knucklehead kills themselves on a road and their family sues the city/county because the road was "unsafe". There are whole divisions set up to handle exactly these issues. It would be rather interesting to plot vehicle injury accidents and fatalities by road type. My guess is that most of the incidents are on roads already made "safe" by streetlights. Post Extras:       GlennLeDrew Postmaster Reged: 06/18/08 Loc: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Re: iPhone 'SQM' app available soon ... your thots? [Re: Jeff Morgan]       #5712932 - 03/04/13 05:04 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Testing light meters indoors with the lights off can often result in conditions rather darker than a clear, dark sky. You might be surprised at how bright your room must be made to equal, say, a 21 MPSAS semi-rural sky! Post Extras:       johnpd sage Reged: 04/13/08 Re: iPhone 'SQM' app available soon ... your thots? [Re: Nop]       #5715734 - 03/06/13 01:26 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Hi Norbert, We are clouded out tonight. Will resume testing Wednesday evening. JohnD Post Extras:       derangedhermit sage Reged: 10/07/09 Loc: D/FW, TX Re: iPhone 'SQM' app available soon ... your thots? [Re: johnpd]       #5720303 - 03/08/13 11:10 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   With the wide field of view, how do you account for the brightness of the Milky Way (or lack of same) in the field? Post Extras:       Jeff Morgan Post Laureate Reged: 09/28/03 Loc: Prescott, AZ Re: iPhone 'SQM' app available soon ... your thots? [Re: derangedhermit]       #5720751 - 03/08/13 03:53 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Quote: With the wide field of view, how do you account for the brightness of the Milky Way (or lack of same) in the field? Perhaps the answer is to narrow the field. Post Extras:       Raginar Carpal Tunnel Reged: 10/19/10 Loc: Rapid CIty, SD Re: iPhone 'SQM' app available soon ... your thots? [Re: James Cunningham]       #5721117 - 03/08/13 08:13 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Jimmy, Sky Quality Measurement. There is a manufacturer of similar devices... I think people use them to determine where it's worth imaging . Post Extras:       Madratter professor emeritus Reged: 01/14/13 Re: iPhone 'SQM' app available soon ... your thots? [Re: Raginar]       #5721299 - 03/08/13 10:08 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   I'm sure hoping this will work not just on the I-phone 4 and 5 but at least the SQM part on the I-pod touch 4 and 5. I don't even care all that much if it is calibrated for it. I just want an objective measure of how good it is out any particular night. For some reason, I often can see down to about the same NELM on nights where I am pretty sure the amount of light in the sky really is quite different. Post Extras:       Raginar Carpal Tunnel Reged: 10/19/10 Loc: Rapid CIty, SD Re: iPhone 'SQM' app available soon ... your thots? [Re: Madratter]       #5721327 - 03/08/13 10:29 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Madratter, I agree. Post Extras:       Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | (show all)

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