Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Jan 2012
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2012aas...21921007w&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, AAS Meeting #219, #210.07
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
Scientific paper
The International Year of Astronomy provided opportunities to experience the beauty of the night sky. Every April since IYA2009, Global Astronomy Month (GAM) carried on the activities with new ones. Its goal is to bring astronomy enthusiasts together to celebrate astronomy and the beauty of observing the sky. Dark Skies Awareness (DSA) is a major program of GAM. Its main "take away" message focuses on reasons and methods for preserving the night sky. With half of the world's population living in cities, many people never experience the wonderment of a pristinely dark sky. "Light pollution” is obscuring people's long-standing natural heritage to view stars. Poorly-aimed and unshielded outdoor lights are the cause of most of the light pollution. They waste more than $2 billion (17 billion kilowatt-hours) of energy in the United States each year. Under unpolluted skies we ought to see more than a couple thousand stars, yet we see less than a hundred from many cities. A number of dark skies events and activities to promote public awareness on how to save energy and save our night sky were held worldwide during GAM2011 and will be held during GAM2012:
· International Earth & Sky Photo Contest, April 1-22
· GLOBE at Night, which measures local levels of light pollution over a 10 day period, April 11-20
· International Dark Sky Week, April 14-20
· World Night in Defense of Starlight, April 20
· Dark Sky Rangers, designed to involve young people in preventing light pollution
· One Star at a Time, creating accessible public spaces for viewing a dark night sky
· Dark Skies Awareness 10 minute audio podcasts and poetry
GAM 2012 DSA programs will be presented in terms of lessons learned and plans ahead to redress a disappearing natural heritage-our dark night sky.
Global Astronomy Month's Dark Skies Awareness Working Group
Walker Constance E.
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