Declaration in Defence of the Night Sky

As an avid astronomer and now that we have a new big ten inch Dobsonian I was glad to see this on the NASA Spaceweather web page.
Mind you we live in the country and therefore its not as bad but millions of you people never see a night sky.

IN DEFENSE OF THE NIGHT SKY: Many of the wonders you see daily on spaceweather.com are visible because, somewhere out there, last night's sky was dark enough for astronomy. The problem is, "the quality of the night sky is deteriorating at an alarming rate." So says UNESCO and other groups who met last month on the Canary Islands to discuss the growing problem of light pollution and disappearing stars. Their Declaration in Defence of the Night Sky is a must-read for anyone with an interest in the heavens.

International Initiative

in Defence of the Quality of the Night Sky

as Mankind’s Scientific, Cultural

and Environmental Right



"The sky, our common and universal heritage, is an integral part of the environment perceived by humanity. Humankind has always observed the sky either to interpret it or to understand the physical laws that govern the universe. This interest in astronomy has had profound implications for science, philosophy, religion, culture and our general conception of the universe".

Proclamation of 2009 as International Year of Astronomy. UNESCO General Conference. Paris 2005.



www.unescocan.org...