Analysis of Great World Wide Star Count Data: 2007-2013

摘要

The Great World Wide Star Count (GWWSC) website provides free public access to seven years of naked-eye limiting magnitudes (NELM) reported by citizen scientists from 2007 to 2013. We summarize the data and perform a simple statistical analysis. GWWSC data are compared with the Globe at Night (GaN) data over the same time period. The global average NELM values are generally comparable across the two data sets. Global NELM data seem to reflect shifts in urban versus suburban participation over time, while regional and local NELM data are more likely to reflect changes in night sky brightness.