Lartigue Construction Services

On July 3rd, Samuel Lartigue, volunteer SQM Cluster Project Manager for Blanco County Friends of the Night Sky (BCFNS), and two Science Mill staff members installed a Sky Quality Meter (SQM) at the Science Mill in Johnson City. This is the 14th SQM installed in Blanco County.

Bob Heinonen, Board member of BCFNS said, “Having a SQM at the Science Mill accomplishes several important things.
1. It helps BCFNS fulfill the first item of its Action Plan: Measure the darkness of the night sky at strategic places over Blanco County for at least the next 10 years. Are we gaining ground or losing ground?
2. The central location of the SQM in Johnson City will provide data about night sky darkness that can be included with an application to DarkSky International for Johnson City to become an International Dark Sky Certified Community. The SQM measures an area of over 4 miles across the city.
3. In the future, the SQM may be updated to provide data for integration into the Science Mill’s educational program. BCFNS will work with the Science Mill on the integration project.
We are very happy the Science Mill agreed to be part of our Blanco County SQM Cluster. This will make a significant difference monitoring our night sky.”

The SQM at the Science Mill was purchased by BCFNS; the SQM will be both maintained and monitored by BCFNS for the next 10 years.