ORBITAL REFLECTORDARK SKIES LESSONGRADE: 9-12
STANDARDS:
ART: VA:Cn10.1.IIa. Utilize inquiry methods ofobservation, research, and experimentation to explore
unfamiliar subjects through art-making.
SCIENCE: HS-ESS3-6. Use a computational
representation to illustrate the relationships among
Earth systems and how those relationships are being
modified due to human activity.

MATERIALS:•••

Student Journal or Notebooks
Access to computers and internet
Various art making supplies

OBJECTIVE:
Students will be able to research and observe digitalrepresentations of light pollution in order to create artthat illustrates the impact of light pollution on earth.

LESSON:ENGAGEMENT:VOCABULARY:Show students an image of Orbital Reflector, and of theview of Orbital Reflector from the surface of the earth.

Light Pollution: Brightening of the night sky caused bystreet lights and other man-made sources, which has adisruptive effect on natural cycles and inhibits theobservation of stars and planets.

Pose the following question to students: What do you
see when you look up at the night sky? What do you
really notice about outer space?

Dark Sky: Denoting or located in a place where thedarkness of the night sky is relatively free ofinterference from artificial light.
Abstract: Art that does not attempt to represent
external reality, but seeks to achieve its effect using
shapes, forms, colors, and textures.
TIME: 3 Class Periods

Give students ample time to consider their answers
and record them in a journal or notebook.
Have students discuss their answers as a class. Most
students are not paying much attention to the night skyor maybe cannot see much because they live in a citythat never gets very dark. Take the time to workthrough these discussions.
Share the following idea with students: Trevor Paglen
created Orbital Reflector, in part, to draw our attention
to the night sky and to think about it in new and more

This lesson plan was created to celebrate the launch of Orbital Reflector and ispresented in partnership with the Great Basin Observatory.

engaging ways. The night sky is not separate from us,
and the things we continue to put in orbit around ourplanet are there, even if we’re not paying attention.
Allow students to discuss this idea in depth. What are
we paying attention to, and what should we be paying
attention to? How can we take better care of the nightsky?
EXPLORATION:
Show students the video:
SciShow: The Strange Scourge of Light Pollution
available on YouTube(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nlFcEj41Xk).
During the video, have students record 12 facts aboutlight pollution.
After the video, ask students in small groups to define
light pollution. Share their definitions with the wholeclass and record a working definition for everyone.
Students should be able to answer the question: Whatis light pollution and why does it matter?
EXPLANATION:
Show students various light pollution maps. Havethem practice close looking and record some ideas
about what they are seeing.
Show students various abstract artworks. Have them
practice close looking and record some ideas about
what they are seeing.
Ask the students, how are these images similar? Whatelements and principles of design (shape, line, color,etc.) do they have in common? If we removed the map
elements, the city names, roads, and geopoliticalboundaries, the map takes on an abstract quality. It
becomes an artwork that represents an idea.

Challenge students to create an abstract artwork
based on a light pollution map.
ELABORATION:
Each student will need to pick a geographic location,
this could be a city, a state, a country or a continent.
Students will need to research information on light
pollution in that particular location. Have students finddigital maps and computational representations togather visual information and data on their location.
They will want to take some notes on their area as wellas get some color printouts or saved images of the site.
Encourage students to use the following resources:
https://www.lightpollutionmap.info
http://darksitefinder.com/maps/world.html
From this computer-generated data, students will needto create an artwork. They may work in any medium,but their artwork needs to explore and reflect thegeographic location they have selected. It should tell astory about how humans are living on that part of theearth, and the presence or absence of light pollution.
They may want to paint, work in paper collage, or any
medium of their choosing. Give them ample time tocreate, refine, and complete their artworks.
EVALUATION:
Have students present their completed artworks. In
their presentation, they should discuss the presence orabsence of light pollution in their area, and how that isbeing represented in the artwork they created.
It may be interesting to have students try to guess boththe location the artwork represents, the degree of light
pollution in that given area, and if they were inspired bya particular artist or artwork.

This lesson plan was created to celebrate the launch of Orbital Reflector and ispresented in partnership with the Great Basin Observatory.

EXTENSION:

LINKS AND RESOURCES:

Have students participate in the Citizen Science project“Globe at Night” to get a better understanding of how
light pollution is impacting the region they live in.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nlFcEj41Xk

https://www.globeatnight.org/

https://www.globeatnight.org/

Have students complete the activity, “Engineering aWorld Without Light Pollution” from the Great Basin
Observatory website.
http://www.greatbasinobservatory.org/lessonplans/engineering-world-without-light-pollution

https://www.lightpollutionmap.info

http://www.greatbasinobservatory.org

This lesson plan was created to celebrate the launch of Orbital Reflector and ispresented in partnership with the Great Basin Observatory.

Figure 1 Orbital Reflector

This lesson plan was created to celebrate the launch of Orbital Reflector and ispresented in partnership with the Great Basin Observatory.

Figure 2 Orbital Reflector in Orbit

This lesson plan was created to celebrate the launch of Orbital Reflector and ispresented in partnership with the Great Basin Observatory.

Figure 3 Light Pollution Map, US

This lesson plan was created to celebrate the launch of Orbital Reflector and ispresented in partnership with the Great Basin Observatory.

Figure 4 Light Pollution Map, State

This lesson plan was created to celebrate the launch of Orbital Reflector and ispresented in partnership with the Great Basin Observatory.

Figure 5 Light Pollution Map, City

This lesson plan was created to celebrate the launch of Orbital Reflector and ispresented in partnership with the Great Basin Observatory.

Figure 6 Wassily Kandinsky, Color Study, 1913

This lesson plan was created to celebrate the launch of Orbital Reflector and ispresented in partnership with the Great Basin Observatory.

Figure 7 Joan Mitchell, Blueberry, 1969

This lesson plan was created to celebrate the launch of Orbital Reflector and ispresented in partnership with the Great Basin Observatory.