august 22-23, 2008darksky 2008 european symposium vienna, austria international year of astronomy...
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August 22-23, 2008 Darksky 2008 European Symposium
Vienna, Austria
International Year of International Year of Astronomy Astronomy
CornerstoneCornerstone
Dark Skies Awareness
Some slides adapted from the International Dark-Sky AssociationImages courtesy of The World at Night
Connie WalkerNational Optical Astronomy
Observatory, USA
August 22-23, 2008 Darksky 2008 European Symposium
Vienna, Austria
THE DARK SKIES AWARENESS TASK GROUP from Europ/Asia MinorName Country Email Address AttendingGuenther Wuchterl Austria [email protected] xFriedel Pas Belgium [email protected] xRoger Ferlet France [email protected] Legue France [email protected] Haneal Germany [email protected] xMargarita Metaxa Greece [email protected] Zoltan Hungary [email protected] xRobert Hill Ireland [email protected] White Ireland [email protected] xFabio Falchi Italy [email protected] Varano ItalyAlessandra Zanazzi Italy [email protected] Romanowska Poland [email protected] xTomasz WierzchowskiPoland skype: tomasz.wierzchowski2Rosa Doran PortugalDan Hillier Scotland [email protected] Bozic Serbia [email protected] Duris Slovakia [email protected] Marin Spain [email protected] Kaneko Turkey [email protected] Baskell United [email protected] xSteve Owens United [email protected] x
FROM IYA Dark Skies Awareness (DSA) TASK GROUP in EUROPE
August 22-23, 2008 Darksky 2008 European Symposium
Vienna, Austria
European Countries Involvement in and Commitment to Dark Skies Activities
COUNTRY GLOBE at Night and/or How Many Stars?Earth HourPhotographyLight Pollution Group(s)Radio Frequency InterferenceModelling LP DataMeasuremens w/ InstrumentsDark Sky Preserve100 HoursCOMMENTS
Austria X X XIDA, themes every 3
months; affects on wildlife
Belgium X (x) X a "Lights Out" event
Croatia (x) X X Xvarious publications,
nighttime observations;
Czech Republic (x) X X
legislaion/technology; LP measurements w/
cameras; Modeling - Visnjan Ed Ctr
England (x) X X X
IDA, BAA'S CfDS, UK is promoting DSA w/ tons of activities; regulations (UK)
Finland (x) Xwebsite to estimate limiting magnitude
France (x) X X Xeffective lighting; Assoc. Francaise d'Astronomy
Germany X (x) X X X
traveling exhibits, various publications, powerpoint,
a "Lights Out" event; effective lighting
Greece (x) (x)IDA, LP Program (for
students)
Hungary (x) X X X Xmobile exhibition, joint efforts with CIE planned
August 22-23, 2008 Darksky 2008 European Symposium
Vienna, Austria
European Countries Involvement in and Commitment to Dark Skies Activities, continued…
COUNTRY GLOBE at Night and/or How Many Stars?Earth HourPhotographyLight Pollution Group(s)Radio Frequency InterferenceModelling LP DataMeasuremens w/ InstrumentsDark Sky Preserve100 HoursCOMMENTS
Ireland X X X
Italy (x) X X X X
IDA, LP Science and Technology Institute (publications too),
activities w/students
Malta (x) X
IDA, projects on LP, on World Heritage site, & with
UNAWE
Netherlands (x) X XModeling; Platform
Lichthinder
Poland (x)portal to astronomy-->
GaN, Ciemne Niebo
Portugal (x) (x)a "Lights Out" event, summer star parties
Romania (x) X
Scotland (x) X X DS Scotland's DS parks
Serbia X promoting DSA
Slovakia (x) X promoting DSA
Slovenia X IDA; regulations
Spain (x) X several regional groups
Sweden (X) X X Galileoscope
Switzerland (x) X IDA
August 22-23, 2008 Darksky 2008 European Symposium
Vienna, Austria
Global IYA Cornerstone: Dark Skies Awareness
3 Star Counting programs that span 2009
Program on Quiet Skies Planetarium Program Digital Photography Traveling Exhibit Educational Toolkit
PSAs (audio podcasts for radio, TV, sidewalk astronomy events)
Preservation of Dark Skies Places (including observatories!)
August 22-23, 2008 Darksky 2008 European Symposium
Vienna, Austria
Measuring Local Levels of Light Pollution Year-
Round
• WHAT IS BETTER THAN 1 fun, fast, no-frills star hunting program inviting citizen-scientists around the world to measure the amount of light pollution in their night sky?
• 3 star hunting programs that cover the entire International Year of Astronomy!
August 22-23, 2008 Darksky 2008 European Symposium
Vienna, Austria
GLOBE at NightHow Many Stars?
Great World Wide Star Count• GLOBE at Night
Next GLOBE at Night campaign is March 16 - 28, 2009
Orion and Sky Quality Meters http://www.globe.gov/globeatnight/
How Many Stars? Jan, Feb, April-Sept, Nov, Dec 2009 Little Dipper and 3 belt stars in Orion http://sternhell.at/
Great World Wide Star Count Oct. 20 - Nov. 3, 2009 Cygnus and Sagittarius http://www.windows.ucar.edu/citizen_science/starcount/
August 22-23, 2008 Darksky 2008 European Symposium
Vienna, Austria
Earth Hour 2009
• Is an energy conservation event to be held on Saturday March 28, 2009 from 8:30-9:30 pm.
• Dozens of cities around the world will turn off non-essential lights, conserving energy while allowing the public to see the dark skies from cities.
• 2008 successful wave of darkness around the world• www.earthhour.org
August 22-23, 2008 Darksky 2008 European Symposium
Vienna, Austria
Quiet Skies
• Radio Frequency Interference, or RFI, is the radio equivalent of light pollution.
• RFI effectively blinds radio telescopes at certain frequencies, making it impossible to study the Universe at those frequencies.
• The Quiet Skies project (led by the National
Radio Astronomy Observatory) introduces radio astronomy and the need for quiet skies to the public through a kit loan program to schools and museums.
• Participants will measure the RFI levels in their commu-nities and enter their measurements into a database.
• The RFI results will be graphically displayed
August 22-23, 2008 Darksky 2008 European Symposium
Vienna, Austria
Planetarium Program
• A feature presentation that takes advantage of the interactive capabilities of small and portable domes to advocate dark skies and to introduce participants to star hunting programs.
• A folklore story on the night sky
• A demonstration of shielding lights• Presentation of Crelin’s book, “There Once was a Sky Full of Stars”.
• The audience learns about a citizen-scientist star hunting program (GLOBE at Night).
• Saving the Night (a powerpoint) illustrates the negative effects of improper lighting on the night sky.
• And a lot more ancillary materials on light pollution
August 22-23, 2008 Darksky 2008 European Symposium
Vienna, Austria
“Earth and Sky” Photo Contest
•Where amateur photographers combine Earth & Sky in one photo
•A joint program of “The World Night” (TWAN) & IYA Dark Skies
Awareness
•GOAL: for these photos taken by the public to impress the public with the beauty and importance of dark skies and increase the public’s awareness of light pollution.
•Educational resources developing on the TWAN website: www.TWANight.org
August 22-23, 2008 Darksky 2008 European Symposium
Vienna, Austria
Traveling Exhibits
• Traveling exhibits are a wonderful method for providing outreach and education to communities on light pollution during events such as star parties, (e.g. sidewalk astronomy), museums, science centers, libraries, zoos, etc.
• Traveling exhibits & vinyl posters on 4 themes are planned: 1 on outdoor lighting, 1 on effects on wildlife, 1 on effects on human health & 1 on energy conservation.• The effort is being coordinated by the
IDA.
August 22-23, 2008 Darksky 2008 European Symposium
Vienna, Austria
Light Pollution Education Toolkit
What difference do you note with and without the shield?
Shielding Demo (in a dark room with a white tabletop)
Planetarium with light
inside
“streetlight”“candle mode”
shielded light
August 22-23, 2008 Darksky 2008 European Symposium
Vienna, Austria
PSA & Podcasts
Audio podcasts & a video PSA will be created to communicate the need to protect dark skies.
The 365 Days of Astronomy podcasts will include shows dedicated to light pollution.
From the folklore stories to the loss of dark skies, this podcast will take its listeners on 1 to 5-minute “plunges” into how the sky touches our society.
Project is led in collaboration with the New Media Task Group.
August 22-23, 2008 Darksky 2008 European Symposium
Vienna, Austria
Preservation of Dark Skies Places
to facilitate the preservation and protection of the world’s natural heritage of dark night skies in places, such as urban oases, national parks and observatories
to support UNESCO’s goals of preserving cultural and scientific values of historical astronomical sites for posterity.
International Dark Skies Places (designated by IDA) http://www.darksky.org/mc/page.do?sitePageId=56446&orgId=idsa
UNESCO’s Astronomy and World Heritage Initiative http://whc.unesco.org/en/activities/19
August 22-23, 2008 Darksky 2008 European Symposium
Vienna, Austria
Milky Way arch over Alborz Mountains of Iran
TWAN
A picture is worth a thousand words.
Preserve Dark Skies.
August 22-23, 2008 Darksky 2008 European Symposium
Vienna, Austria
Thank-you for your kind attention!
August 22-23, 2008 Darksky 2008 European Symposium
Vienna, Austria
For more information
Websites of interest: www.astronomy2009.us/darkskies/ www.darkskiesawareness.org www.globe.gov/GaN/
Contact: Connie Walker (IYA Dark Skies Awareness Chair) 1-520-318-8535 [email protected]
August 22-23, 2008 Darksky 2008 European Symposium
Vienna, Austria
August 22-23, 2008 Darksky 2008 European Symposium
Vienna, Austria
U.S. IYA Key Program:
Dark Skies are a Universal Resource
PROGRAMS RESOURCES
GLOBE at Night (w/ Earth Hour)
Education Toolkit
Astronomy Nights in the (National) Parks
Planetarium Show
Photography Contest Social Networking via the Internet
Dark Skies Discovery Sites
Traveling Exhibit
Quiet Skies Six Minute Video
Good Neighbor Lighting
Podcasting
August 22-23, 2008 Darksky 2008 European Symposium
Vienna, Austria
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