International Dark Sky Week 5 – 11 April, 2013
It’s International Dark Sky Week.
Celebrate the stars! Created in 2003 by high-school student Jennifer Barlow, IDSW has grown to become a worldwide event and a key component of Global Astronomy Month. The goals of IDSW are to appreciate the beauty of the night sky and to raise awareness of how poor-quality lighting creates light pollution.
Light pollution affects our night skies, disrupts ecosystems, and affects our health by breaking up a healthy sleep pattern. It’s never to late to address the problem and start making changes. There are several ways we can mitigate light pollution.
- Join the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA)
- Assess lighting around your home
- Spread the word
- Outreach: throw a star party or present about light pollution in public locations such as schools, parks, sidewalk astronomy and libraries
- Assess and photograph lighting in public areas to help out the IDA
To see how assessments are performed, please see IDA – Learning to Assess Lighting.
What do the skies look like in your area? Compare your skies with the image provided by The Universe on Facebook and learn more about the effects of light pollution and what we can do to help. Light Pollution Simulation
PCW Memorial Observatory - Erika Rix 