How much do you love the stars? Would you do a fun, simple nighttime activity to prove it?

Now in its 15th year, “Globe at Night” is a crowdsourced effort to measure levels of light pollution worldwide. According to researcher Christopher Kyba of the German Research Center for Geosciences, it’s “the best method that currently exists for testing how the human experience of sky brightness is changing on a global scale.”

And it’s easy to participate in Globe at Night — no equipment or experience is necessary! Instead, all you need are your own eyes; a clear, moonless sky; and a simple sky chart to help you determine what stars are visible to you. You can download the sky chart — and the simple instructions for making and reporting your observation — from Globe at Night’s website or watch the fun, instructive video below. It’s something your whole family can do together!

Right now GAN needs our help! “Unfortunately,” Kyba explains, “participation rates in recent years have not been as high as they were when the program first started.” Although the program runs all year long, Kyba urges you to make observations during the next two moon-free evening periods: February 14-23   (theme: “Love your stars”) and March 14-24 (theme: “Pi in the sky”).

You don’t need a super-dark sky for this — in fact, estimates from urban settings are especially important. But you will need to find a spot away from any nearby security- and streetlights (like a local park or sports field). Also, give your eyes at least 15 minutes to adjust to the darkness. And bring a small dim red-filtered flashlight to read the comparison chart.

Here’s a challenge for members of IDA Massachusetts:

As of today, only 7 sky estimates have been submitted to Globe at Night from our state since January 1st. [Update: as of March 1st, the count is up to 20.] We can do so much better! Let’s try to amass more than 200 GAN sky measurements before the end of this year. To see how well we’re doing — or to see where measurements are needed — check out this map showing all reports for 2020 (zoom in to view Massachusetts).