DIY Photometer-Based Citizen Science for Project-Based Environmental Physics Learning and Light Pollution Literacy

Cahyo Puji Asmoro; Rani Nur Widiawati; Asep Akmal Fadia Nurhalim; Abdul Salam; Najmi Hiyan Fathinah; Judhistira Aria Utama; Dhani Herdiwijaya

doi:10.61142/esj.v4i2.359

Authors

Cahyo Puji Asmoro Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia
Rani Nur Widiawati Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia
Asep Akmal Fadia Nurhalim Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia
Abdul Salam Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia
Najmi Hiyan Fathinah Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia
Judhistira Aria Utama Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia
Dhani Herdiwijaya Institut Teknologi Bandung

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.61142/esj.v4i2.359

Keywords:

Bortle scale, DIY photometer, Environmental education, Light pollution, Nelm

Abstract

Artificial light at night (ALAN) is a growing environmental crisis, yet integrating light pollution literacy into science curricula is often hindered by the prohibitive cost of commercial sensors. Addressing this gap, this study examines the DIY CJ’01 photometer as a low-cost, open-source tool for measuring night sky brightness and advancing environmental physics education. Fieldwork across 15 sub-districts in Cimahi City compared the CJ’01 against an industry-standard Sky Quality Meter (SQM). Results demonstrated strong instrumental agreement, yielding a minimal mean discrepancy of 0.16 mag/arcsec². Robust validation via Bland–Altman analysis (bias = −0.157; 95% LoA = −0.465 to 0.152), alongside RMSE (0.218), MAE (0.157), and an Intraclass Correlation Coefficient of 0.832, confirmed its high reliability. Beyond technical validation, embedding the CJ’01 within a Project-Based Learning (PjBL) framework successfully repositioned undergraduate students as active citizen scientists. This instructional design enabled students to translate raw photometric data into baseline sky-brightness maps for municipal use. Ultimately, this experiential approach operationalizes SDG 4.7’s active environmental citizenship, proving that democratized instrumentation can simultaneously serve scientific monitoring and Education for Sustainable Development (ESD).

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