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Malcolm G. Smith IAU/AURA/IDA

Education and Control of Light Pollution – Division XII’s Commissions 46 & 50 Making an Impact in Chile. Malcolm G. Smith IAU/AURA/IDA. IAU – Protecting the Night Sky. 1997 – Vienna. Set up Working Group “Controlling Light Pollution” (Commission 50).

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Malcolm G. Smith IAU/AURA/IDA

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  1. Education and Control of Light Pollution – Division XII’s Commissions 46 & 50 Making an Impact in Chile. Malcolm G. Smith IAU/AURA/IDA IAU General Assembly - Commission 46 - Prague

  2. IAU – Protecting the Night Sky. • 1997 – Vienna. Set up Working Group “Controlling Light Pollution” (Commission 50). • Pragmatic program with priorities for protecting key astronomical sites. • Priorities are Hawaii, N. Chile, La Palma…. • Working with organizations in the USA (IDA), Spain (OTPC) and Chile (OPCC) – and with professional lighting engineers. • Environmental protection: education first – enforcement only if/when needed. • We now need to extend much further internationally and deepen the level of science education (Commission 46).

  3. Light Pollution – A Multidisciplinary Theme in the Classroom • Environment, energy conservation, local, regional, national and international government, architecture, legislative process, public relations, geography, astronomy, illumination engineering, computer modeling, physics, biology, medicine, optics, road safety and citizen safety. The schools in the RedLaSer network have added art, languages, photography, poetry y essays, dance, and music.

  4. IAU General Assembly - Commission 46 - Prague Compare with the next image... Courtesy Roger Smith/CTIO

  5. V~21.5mag/arcsec^2 @ zenith Courtesy Roger Smith, CTIO Taken ~4h after the previous image. IAU General Assembly - Commission 46 - Prague

  6. Public Affairs and Educational Outreach from Chile. • “Norma Luminica” applies to the astronomically-sensitive regions of Chile (II - ESO, III - Carnegie and IV - AURA). • Cities are working with OPCC, regulators and astronomers. Database of major contaminators. • Mamalluca, RedLaSer, StarTeachers, ASTRO-Chile, Pro-Ed. Etc. reaching into schools. • Gemini StarTeachers exchange Hawaii-La Serena. • “ASTRO-Chile” videoconferencing Tucson-La Serena. • Participation in “Globe at Night” initiative (96 countries).

  7. Inform the Chilean Authorities IAU General Assembly - Commission 46 - Prague

  8. Reach out to Royalty IAU General Assembly - Commission 46 - Prague

  9. Engage the Media - “El Dia” – Nov 20, 2002 IAU General Assembly - Commission 46 - Prague

  10. Mamalluca Observatory – a Focus for Local Tourism and Education • Vicuna: First town to cooperate with AURA’s program against light pollution. • CTIO gave a Meade LX200 telescope + CCD camera CCD + computer + dome. • Talks and employee-training course. • Support and publicity. • Part of the annual RedLaSer teacher-training program includes a visit to the Mamalluca observatory. • http://www.angelfire.com/wy/obsermamalluca/indice.html

  11. Mamalluca receives >14,000 foreign tourists each year. They have to eat and sleep somewhere… $$$ into the local economy. Now being copied elsewhere. IAU General Assembly - Commission 46 - Prague

  12. RedLaSer • Began 7 years ago with 7 schools. • “The Sun, Our Star”. • Network now has >100 local schools – of all sizes, from the towns and the countryside + several hundred schools in other parts of Chile. • Strong support from the local University. • >100,000 local schoolchildren and >2,000 teachers have passed through the two portable planetaria (AURA/Gemini/ CTIO). • Schools self-financing networking extending to national level via REUNA2 to U. de Concepcion. • Chilean Airforce interested in communicating its space program in schools via RedLaSer.

  13. IDA Chile etc. • Workshops. IDA Chile, RChA, RedLaSer • DS686. Luminaires. Economics. • Environment, human health issues. • Limiting-mag. Project. Teachers, children,astronomers. Globe at Night, ASTRO-Chile & RedLaSer/CADIAS. • 96 Countries (following Austrian lead). • Connie Walker’s poster tomorrow. • Catalogue of Urban Light Pollution • Panoramic images of urban/human centres. Dan McKenna’s (Vatican Obs.)web-based sky monitors. • Dark-Sky Meters • Gote Flodquist, Sky and Telescope. Dan McKenna. IAU General Assembly - Commission 46 - Prague

  14. Padre Piccetti

  15. Context - Educational Networks of schools in Other Countries. • Gemini. • Chile (ULS) <-> Brazil ( http://www.lna.br ). • International Astronomical Union (IAU) – possible joint effort between Commissions 46 and 50? • Spain, Greece, Slovenia, Ireland, UK etc. • “Netd@ys Europe”. “Physics on Stage”. • UNESCO. Youth and Light Pollution. • http://www.ctio.noao.edu/~emond/lpc/m-metaxa

  16. Educational Networks in the US. • Project ASTRO • Hands-on Universe • Star-Date Texas • -> (English and Spanish) -> • ENLACES network (CONICYT)/ REUNA2/ULS. Combine resources -> greater bandwidth!

  17. Project ASTRO (Tucson) • “El universo a sus pies”; activities and teaching resources for astronomy. • Teachers’ resource library in the local University. • First video workshop – astronomers with teachers – was in October, 2002. Connection by video I2 – assembly of spectrometers.

  18. IAU General Assembly - Commission 46 - Prague

  19. ASTRO-Chile • Video exchange workshops (in Spanish) between teachers in Tucson and La Serena • Sharing teaching techniques and experiments (light, colour, spectroscopy….) • Local starcounts in Orion (a la Austria/Greece) -> Globe at Night, 96 countries, 3 years later. IAU General Assembly - Commission 46 - Prague

  20. IAU General Assembly - Commission 46 - Prague

  21. Countries belonging to the Gemini partnership.

  22. IAU General Assembly - Commission 46 - Prague

  23. StarTeachers • Sister Cities: La Serena/Island of Hawaii. • StarTeachers exchange 2003: Chile=RedLaSer • Internet2 being used for teaching and virtual exchange. • http://www.ctio.noao.edu/AURA/redlaser/STT_01.html • http://www.gemini.edu/project/announcements/press/2002-12e • Extension via ULS, REUNA2?

  24. Mauna Kea – Hawai’i. IAU General Assembly - Commission 46 - Prague

  25. LP Control Office - OPCC • CONAMA/AURA/ESO/OCIW. • National Director - Pedro Sanhueza. • Annual budget ~US$100,000 p.a. plus in-kind support. • http://www.opcc.cl • Outreach - DS686/98 “Norma Luminica”. • Training. • Evaluation and Monitoring of Light Pollution • Support for enforcement by Chilean authorities; lists and photos of violators, simple tilt measuring equipment, etc.

  26. All night each 5 minutes

  27. Uses for TASCA in the Classroom • Zodiacal light (interplanetary dust). • Apparent rotation of the sky (the stars rise and set). • Movement of the planets among the stars. • Bright Comets. • Meteors. • Light Pollution.

  28. How can I help? • Join the International Dark-Sky Association http://www.darksky.org • Support the BAA’s Campaign for Dark Skies. • Get involved!

  29. END IAU General Assembly - Commission 46 - Prague

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