International Dark-Sky Week
Here are our picks....
GLOBE AT NIGHT
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FAMILY FRIENDLY CITIZEN SCIENCE PROJECT
GET OUT AND COUNT THE STARS
23 APRIL - FOR SCIENCE
Globe at Night is an international citizen-science campaign to raise public awareness of the impact of light pollution by inviting citizen-scientists to measure & submit their night sky brightness observations. It's easy to get involved - all you need is computer or smart phone & follow these 5 Simple Steps!
Make sure to type your address in and then hit "map it". This will give you the right constellation and the right details go to to help science
The Dubbo School of Distance Education and the NSW Department of Planning have developed this short video to engage young minds in light pollution mitigation.
Watch the video, answer these questions and record your answer on the phone.
1. Where is one of the best places to see the whole southern night sky?
2. What can light pollution do to nocturnal animals?
3. What can you do to help reduce light pollution?
Take your mum, dad, cat, brother, sister or just a torch and explore the night sky from wherever you are.
Using this Night Sky Map to help you find the constellations, play
Bingo
in the Southern Hemisphere.
Tweet a photo of you and your bingo card to @darkskyalliance for a small gift.
PODCAST
Join Marnie Ogg, Australasian Dark Sky Alliance CEA, as she chats with Dan O’Donoghue (magician and storyteller extraordinaire) and Georgia MacMillan (Dark Sky Ranger)...two of the guides behind Terra Firma - Hiking, Stargazing & Cultural Tours of Ireland
For more events and dark sky activities visit the Mayo Dark Sky Park
TALKS
JOHN BARENTINE
from the International Dark-Sky Association as he presents this webinar.
The lost constellations are important today because they teach us how humans tried to impose a sense of order and structure on the night sky. They may also have something to tell us about the night sky of the future. John will speak about a different lost constellation every day during IDSW.
FRED WATSON
DARK SKIES DOWN UNDER
The southern hemisphere boasts some of the most important objects in the night sky, including the Galactic Centre, the two nearest large dwarf galaxies, and the two brightest globular clusters. Today’s Australian astronomers have access to a range of world-class optical telescopes both domestically and overseas, while the nation boasts the most radio-quiet region on Earth at Murchison in outback Western Australia. This is the site of the international Square Kilometre Array and its precursor instruments. Just as the national optical observatory at Siding Spring in New South Wales is protected from light pollution by state legislation, Murchison is also legally protected from radio-frequency interference.
RICHARD WAINSCOAT
Preserving the dark night sky at observatories in the era of LED lighting with Dr. Richard Wainscoat, an astronomer at the University of Hawai‘i, MānoaThis presentation. Richard researches Near-Earth Objects (NEOs), is a photographer and passionate night sky advocate. This talk is with thanks to the Starlight Conference New Zealand 2019
BABEK TAFRESHI
Shots in the Dark with Babek Tafreshi. Babek, a National Geographic photographer, will give us a ‘behind the scenes’ look at his eye-catching, awe-inspiring astrophotography work.
CHECK OUT IDA's program for more details.
PAUL BOGARD
Join Paul as he shares his work at the Starlight Conference in New Zealand 2019.
The End of Night: Searching for Natural Darkness in an Age of Artificial Light. He is also editor of Let There Be Night: Testimony on Behalf of the Dark. A native Minnesotan, Paul is now an associate professor of English at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia, USA, where he teaches creative writing and environmental literature.
LIVE WEBINAR
AUSTRALIAN LIGHT POLLUTION GUIDELINES
7.30pm - AEST
Dr Arthur is a marine turtle ecologist who has spent more than 10 years working as a field biologist at the University of Hawaii, the Smithsonian Institute and the University of Queensland. Dr Arthur now works for the Australian Commonwealth Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment and has co-led the writing of Australia’s National Light Pollution Guidelines for Wildlife.
BROUGHT TO YOU BY ADSA
ANOTHER GREAT CITIZEN SCIENCE PROJECTS
AMATEUR ASTRONOMERS
Remember New Horizons? It flew by Pluto in 2015 and distant Arrokoth in 2019, and is now nearly 7 billion kilometres from us. That huge separation from Earth presents an opportunity for a citizen science measurement of the distance of two stars in the Sun’s neighbourhood.
Check out the Parallax Program and see if you can get involved!