Starlight News

A Common Heritage
The Right to Starlight

International Initiative in Defence of the Quality of the Night Sky as Mankind’s Scientific, Cultural and Environmental Right

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STARLIGHT NEWS 2008 - 2009
	International Workshop and Expert Meeting- Fuerteventura, 10-11 March 2009--
	Starlight Reserves and World Heritage Scientific, Cultural and Environmental Values The International Workshop and expert meeting “Starlight Reserves and World Heritage: Scientific, Cultural and Environment Values” will be hosted by the Fuerteventura Island Council, and is organized in cooperation with the UNESCO-World Heritage Centre, IAC (Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias), and IAU (International Astronomical Union). "Astronomy and World Heritage: across time and continents" is a cycle of the UNESCO-World Heritage activities which will be launched within the framework of the World Heritage Initiative on Astronomical Heritage during the celebration of the International Year of Astronomy, IYA2009. More information ...>
The Hawaii State Senate Committee on Economical Development and Technology passed Senate Bill 536: Starlight Reserve Statewide Lighting Law Requires department of business, economic development, and tourism, assisted by a temporary advisory committee, to develop a statewide starlight reserve strategy, including an intelligent statewide lighting law, to preserve the quality of the night sky and its associated cultural, scientific, astronomical, natural, and landscape-related values. More information ... >
Starlight at the IYA2009 Openning Ceremony The Starlight Initiative and the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias took part at the Opening Ceremony of the IYA 2009, at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris, on 15-16 January. More information ... >
	October 30th, 2008--
	UNESCO and the IAU sign key agreement on Astronomy and World Heritage Initiative On 30 October 2008 the Director-General of UNESCO, Mr Koïchiro Matsuura, and the Secretary General of the International Astronomical Union (IAU), Professor Karel A. van der Hucht, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) formalizing their intention to expand their collaboration in the development of UNESCO’s “Astronomy and World Heritage” thematic initiative. Also present at the ceremony were Professor Clive Ruggles, Vice-President of the IAU Commission on the History of Astronomy, Professor David Valls-Gabaud, Deputy Director at the Observatoire de Paris and Mr Cipriano Marin, Coordinator of the Starlight Initiative (IAC). More information ...>

The Role of Astronomy in Society and Culture UNESCO, Paris 19-23 January 2009 The aim of this Symposium is to provide a global, and at the same time detailed, view of the very many activities that link Astronomy to our diverse cultures. It should also be the right forum to discuss the ways these activities can be improved upon, from the local to the international levels. More information ... >
	May 28th, 2008--
	Presentation of the book StarLight: A Common Heritage With the presence of the Vice-President of the European Parliament, the book "Starlight, a Common Heritage" was presented at the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias headquarters. The book includes the main aspects of the Starlight initiative as well as the contributions presented at the International Conference in Defence of the Night Sky, held on La Palma in 2007. More information on the event...

April 20th 2009 The World Night in Defence of the Starlight THERE IS ANOTHER WAY TO LIGHT UP THE NIGHT April 20th has been designated as the "World Night" in defence of the Night Sky and the Right to Observe the Stars as a cultural, scientific and environmental humankind heritage. Promotional video for free distribution. MORE INFORMATION.

StarLight Reserve the World´s First Heritage SL KEEP OUR STARLIGHT BURNING BRIGHT The Lake Tekapo / Aoraki Mount Cook Region seeks your support in being considered a World Heritage Starlight Reserve to coincide with the International Year of Astronomy in 2009. Brochure email: info@starlightreserve2009.co.nz Read More-> Read the article Return to the Dark Side by Rebecca Greatrex in The Listener
Presentation of the Starlight initiative at the 50^th Anniversary of the Sputnik launching The 50^th anniversary of the Sputnik launching, a milestone event in the history of mankind, was commemorated on October 9^th, 2007 at the French Senate (Palais du Luxembourg, Paris) under the title of "Windows to the Cosmos; Sputnik and the Dawn of the Space Age". The meeting was organized by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES). The Starlight initiative was presented during this event. Read more...>
Practical guide on outdoor lighting Mt-Mégantic ASTROLab New practical guide on outdoor lighting, freshly produced by the Mt-Mégantic ASTROLab and insipred by Light Pollution Abatement Project over the last 5 years. Excelent document to improve their way to deal with outdoor lighting in a perspective of energy efficiency and light pollution reduction. PDF Guide ...> Contact Cheloé Legris / Mt-Mégantic ASTROLab.. >
Cosmology Across Cultures: Impact of the Study of the Universe in Human Thinking The idea of this conference is to join specialists of both cultural astronomy studies and modern cosmology in a single forum where ideas about the comprehension about the nature of the Universe could be interchanged, analyzed, revised or even challenged. organized by the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias and the Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía and under the patronage of the European Society for Astronomy in Culture (SEAC). September 7th to 14th, 2008. Granada, Spain. More information....>

The Starlight Declaration has been welcomed by the UK Green Party as a comprehensive and far reaching statement of the need to protect the sky in its own right, as part of our shared global environment. More information....>

Starligth Declaration

"An unpolluted night sky that allows the enjoyment and contemplation of the firmament should be considered an inalienable right of humankind equivalent to all other environmental, social, and cultural rights, due to its impact on the development of all peoples and on the conservation of biodiversity."
Starlight Declaration. La Palma, Spain 2008.

			Starlight and IAU General Assembly August 03 - 14, 2009 Rio de Janeiro – Brazil The Starlight Initiative was present for two important reasons at the IAU General Assembly, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in August 3-14, 2009. On August 14th, the Resolution on “Defence of the night sky and the right to Starlight” has been approved during the Closing Ceremony. On August 6th, John Hearnshaw presented “The Starlight Reserve, the New Zealand Experience”.
			IYA - Global Cornerstone Project Dark Skies Awareness Seeing in the dark For this Cornerstone project the IAU will collaborate with the US National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO), representatives of the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA), the Starlight Initiative and other national and international partners in dark sky and environmental education on several related themes.
			NATURE Time to turn off the lights The first Nature Journal of 2009 includes an editorial and several articles on the International Year of Astronomy (Nature vol. 457, issue 7225, 1 January 2009). Among them, the article “Time to turn off the lights” by Malcolm Smith (AURA, President IAU Division XII). Malcolm Smith is also member of the Starlight Initiative Scientific Committee. Article...>
			The Music of the Stars STARMUS - La Palma 2009 This important cultural event, informative and musical, which will stage the domes of Roque de los Muchachos Observatory (La Palma), is part of the activities of the Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias (IAC) for the next 2009, along with the inauguration Gran Telescope Canarias (GTC). Garik Israelian (IAC) and Brian May (guitarist of the legendary group Queen) recently invited Jean-Michel Jarre to form part of the team to develop the concert "The Music of the Stars" on the island of La Palma.
			Support Campaign for Adoption of the Starlight Declaration. The Starlight Initiative invites all organizations, both public and private, to adopt the principles of the Starlight Declaration, expressing their support and voluntary commitment to preserve the quality of the night sky and to promote the cultural, scientific and environmental to the observation of the firmament.
			Presentation of the Starlight Initiative in Paris. Rencontre du Ciel de l'Espace With the title "The right to observe the stars and the protection of astronomical's heritage sites", Alain Le Gue (ANPCEN) introduced the initiative Starlight in Paris. November 8th, 2008
			Starlight and Climate Change The Starlight Initiative joins the Sustainable Energy Europe Campaign Defending the quality of night skies and the urgent application of intelligent lighting systems is also defending a sustainable use of energy and fighting against climate change.
			Inauguration of the Gran Telescopio CANARIAS (GTC) 24th July 2009 - La Palma The Gran Telescopio CANARIAS was inaugurated at the Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos (ORM) on July 24th, 2009, by their Majesties the King and Queen of Spain. The GTC project was promoted by the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias. Once in operation it will be a powerful tool for observing the Universe, and scientists will use it to uncover many of the secrets that still await us.
			IYA 2009 The United Nations declares 2009 the International Year of Astronomy. 20 December 2007: the United Nations 62nd General Assembly proclaimed 2009 the International Year of Astronomy. The Resolution was submitted by Italy, Galileo Galilei's home country. The International Year of Astronomy 2009 is an initiative of the International Astronomical Union and UNESCO. For more information on the International Year of Astronomy 2009 please visit the website at www.astronomy2009.org
			Light Pollution Regione Veneto in Italy approves a law promoting no upward-directed light! Regione Veneto was the first Italian region to enforce a law against light pollution in 1997. Being the first, the law had room for future improvement. One area that needed improvement allowed up to 3% direct upward flux from luminaries. After more than 10 years (and in the International Year of Astronomy) Veneto is substantially upgrading its laws and the new law now recognizes the importance of 0% upward-directed flux, as in ten other Italian regions, starting from the most populated one: Lombardy. More information at DSA-IYA2009 ...>
			Proceedings Starlight Conference 2007 International Conference in Defence of the Quality of the Night Sky and the Right to Observe the Stars. La Palma, April 19-20, 2007 .
			25 February - 8 March GLOBE at Night 2008 Join the 2008 GLOBE at Night Campaign from 25 February - 8 March. 2008 marks a monumental shift in human history when more than half the people on Earth are expected to be living in cities. Because of the ambient light of urban landscapes, many city dwellers have never seen a sky full of stars.
			Starlight Reserve Working Group UNESCO, PARIS, World Heritage Center - October 2007. The working group on the "Starlight Reserve" Concept has been set up. Its aim is to develop the concept of Starlight Reserve for its implementation in different UNESCO Programmes and Initiatives within the framework of the UNESCO Conventions.
			UNESCO - WHC Astronomy and World Heritage The UNESCO Thematic Initiative “Astronomy and World Heritage” launched in support of the International Year of Astronomy aims to establish a link between science and culture with a view to highlighting the scientific value of cultural sites connected with astronomy.
			GTC First Light The Gran Telescopio CANARIAS (GTC) saw its "first light" at the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory (ORM-La Palma) the night of July 13th, 2007 in the presence of HRH The Prince of Asturias, who showed his support to the Starlight initiative and held a meeting with the promoters.
	. .		Darksky 2008 8th European Symposium for the Protection of the Night Sky August 22-23 - Kuffner Observatory, Vienna, Austria.The meeting venue will be the charming, historic Kuffner Observatory in Vienna, Austria.
			TWAN The World At Night a new program that will produce and present a collection of stunning photographs and time-lapse videos of the world’s most beautiful and historic sites against the nighttime backdrop of stars, planets and celestial events. . .
			400 years of the Telescope IYA 2009 Dark Skies, September 2008 Includes article "The Starlight Reserve Concept: Opening Earth's windows to the starlit Sky", by Cipriano Marín, Coordinator of the Starlight Initiative. 400 years of the Telescope - A Journey of Sciences, Tchnology and Thougth.