By taking part in the CPRE's Star Count Week - 20th to 27th January 2012 - organised with the British Astronomical Society, you will be helping them to find out which part of the country has the darkest skies, where the most stars can be seen. The results will help them highlight the problem of light pollution which is spoiling the natural beauty of the night sky.

Why does light pollution spoil our view of the stars?
Astronomer Darren Baskill, from the University of Sussex, explains why it is a problem and what can be done in this slideshow.
Watch BBC slideshow: Dark sky stargazers

How to take part
You can do your Star Count on any day of the week, but preferably on one where there is no haze, so you have the best chance of seeing the stars. It will be sufficiently dark from 7pm. The CPRE are asking people to count stars within the constellation of Orion, which will be visible in the southern sky (the same direction that household satellite dishes face). The main area of the constellation is bounded by four bright stars. The star count should not include these four corner stars – only those within this rectangular boundary – but do include the stars in the middle known as Orion's three-star belt. Orion is easily identified thanks to the red star Betelgeuse to the top left, the bluish-white star Rigel to the bottom right, and the three stars in a line in the middle, known as Orion's belt.

Submit your count
Once you have made a count of the number of stars you can see with the naked eye (not with telescopes), please complete our online survey form.
Use the online survey form to send in your results

What you can do to help reduce light pollution

If you are concerned about the amount of light wasted into the night sky and want to preserve the sky for your children, please consider doing one (or all!) of the following:

• Ensure all your lights are pointing downwards and that they are not spilling into the night sky.
• Contact your local councillor via WriteToThem.com and ask them what they are doing about the energy and money wasted by inefficient street-lighting in your area. Hastings has the greatest effect on Brede and Udimore
  
• Contact your local MP via WriteToThem.com to see what they are doing to reduce light pollution in our area.
• Contact any local businesses that have bad lighting and recommend that they use efficient lighting instead. The cost of replacement can be saved in electricity bills in just a few years.
• Contact the local press to encourage more people to use efficient lighting in Brede and surrounding villages.

Be inspired by dramatic night sky images: Star Count 2012 slideshow