Telescope Reviews: IYA Dark Skies Awareness programs

Please advertise through your organization the following IYA Dark Skies
Awareness programs... Thanks!

Announcing a new 10-minute, audio podcast on dark skies, the start of
two IYA "Dark Skies Awareness" Programs, the "Earth and Sky" Photo
Contest and "Dark Skies Discovery Sites", the continuance of the star-
hunting program, "How Many Stars" and an update on "Nights in the
Parks":

Dark Skies Awareness Podcast

Connie Walker and Rob Sparks from the National Optical Astronomy
Observatory talk about the International Year of Astronomy (IYA) Dark
Skies Awareness Cornerstone Project on a 10-minute, audio podcast
called "Back to the Dark Ages: Responsible Nighttime Lighting." Dark
Skies Awareness is a global cornerstone project of IYA hosted by NOAO.
Its goal is to raise the level of public knowledge about adverse
impacts of excess artificial lighting on local environments and help
more people appreciate the ongoing loss of a dark night sky. Toward
this end, a variety of programs and resource materials have been
developed. To learn more about the cornerstone project, visit
http://www.darkskiesawareness.org

The podcast can be downloaded free at
http://365daysofastronomy.org/2009/05/16/may-16th-back-to-dark-ages-responsible-nighttime-lightingby/
All 365 Days of Astronomy podcasts are available at
http://365daysofastronomy.org

The Earth and Sky Photo Contest

The photography contest is open to any amateur photographer of any
age, anywhere in the world. The special theme of this contest is "Dark
Skies Importance"; so the image should impress people about how
important and amazing the starry sky is, how it affects our life, and
how bad the problem of light pollution has become. The organizers are
The World at Night founder, Babak Tafreshi, and Dark Skies Working
Group (DSWG) member and IAU Div. XII Commission 50 President, Richard
Wainscoat. Details on this program, including the site to submit
photos, can be found at www.darkskiesawareness.org.

Dark Skies Discovery Sites

The Dark Skies Discovery Sites (DSDS) program seeks to establish
permanent relatively dark locations where the public can be educated
about light pollution while being introduced to the wonders of a
fairly dark night sky. Astronomy clubs or individuals can earn the
official DSDS designation for their location by agreeing to present,
mostly at their own pace and schedule, an ongoing series of programs
about light pollution. The organizers are DSWG members, Fred Schaaf
and Terry Mann, as well as John Goss. Terry and John are officers of
the Astronomical League. Fred writes for Sky and Telescope. Details on
this program, including the DSDS application, can be found at
www.darkskiesawareness.org

How Many Stars?

How Many Stars is a star-hunting, citizen-science program that
encourages everyone — students, educators, astronomers and the general
public to measure the darkness of their local night skies and
contribute their observations online to a world map of light
pollution. Citizen-scientists record the brightness of the night sky
by matching its appearance toward the constellation of Ursa Minor in
the northern hemisphere and the belt of Orion in the southern
hemisphere with charts of different limiting magnitudes. During the
summer months in the northern hemisphere, Ursa Minor is at its highest
altitude in the night sky. The organization responsible for this
campaign is Kuffner Observatory in Austria. Find out more information
at http://sternhell.at.

Nights in the Parks

Throughout 2009, many national parks worldwide will be holding special
programs in celebration of the International Year of Astronomy. Some
of the last dark skies in the world may be found in national parks.
Many parks like the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) are proud to
share the beauty and wonder of the night sky. While the starry canopy
will take center stage, event activities are as diverse as the parks.
Activities U.S. National Parks include meteor watching, telescope
viewing, solar viewing, instruction-al workshops, evening programs,
night hikes, nocturnal wildlife watching, tips for protecting dark
skies, & storytelling. Visit parks at www.nps.govfor more information.
The program is led by Chad Moore and Dan Duriscoe of the DSWG and the
U.S. National Park Service. See www.darkskiesawareness.org for more
details or www.nps.gov for details within the United States.

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Constance E. Walker, Ph.D.
NOAO
950 N. Cherry Avenue
Tucson, AZ 85719 USA
520-318-8535
cwalker@noao.edu
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