The World Night

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

Galaxy M51 - William Hercshel ORM

April 20th - 2010 THE WORLD NIGHT The World Night in Defence of the Starlight

	THERE IS ANOTHER WAY TO LIGHT UP THE NIGHT SWITCH ON THE STARS! April 20th 2010 is the date when the Declaration in Defence of the Night Sky and the Right to Starlight will be promoted, as every year since 2007, at all levels, by municipalities, governments organizations, NGOs, citizens associations and also individuals. On April 20th, 2007 during the first International Starlight Conference, supported by IAC, UNESCO, IAU,UN-WTO, MaB, SCBD and CMs, it was agreed to promote annually the World Night in Defence of the Starlight as part of our cultural, scientific and environmental heritage. Every year on this date we remind ourselves of the need to preserve our right to view a dark night sky full of stars and to take steps to prevent its disappearance. This year, World Night in Defence of the Starlight falls within Astronomy Week 2010. A whole range of organizations have unified their efforts and activities this year in April to raise awareness about defending our starry skies all over the planet. The World Night on April 20th is an opportunity to get actively involved in many ways: Organize events and ceremonies for the adoption of the Starlight Declaration. Claim and propose visitable places for observation, as well as parks and destinations under the stars. Promote public statements aimed to recover the vision of starry skies and limit light pollution. Switch-off unnecessary lights at night to recover the vision of stars, and at the same time save energy and slow down climate change. Organize artistic events or competitions on themes related with the vision of starry skies. Offer night sky viewing through telescopes. Provide media coverage and public talks by scientists, experts, and dark skies advocates related with all dimensions of the night sky. Promote the identification of local dark areas that warrant protection. Advocate for local dark sky ordinances. And last, but not least, organize events in which children can participate. Our capacity to maintain the right to observe stars is in their hands; it should be the right of future generations. JOIN THE WORLD NIGHT ...> Declaration in Defence of the Night Sky and the Right to Starlight

	This video has been devoloped by Sky Quality Protection Technical Office (OTPC) of the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC).
Symbolic switching-off in Plaza de Armas (Santiago, Chile), celebrating the World Night (April 20th, 2009). OPCC-Chlile OPCC - The Office for the Protection of the Quality of the Sky of the North of Chile Focal Point of the Starlight Initiative

				Dark Skies Awareness seeing in the dark “Dark Skies Awareness” is one of 11 Global Cornerstone Projects during the 2009 International Year of Astronomy (IYA2009) and “Dark Skies are a Universal Resource” is one of 9 key programs during IYA2009. The goal of “Dark Skies” is to raise the level of public knowledge about adverse impacts of excess artificial lighting on local environments and help more people appreciate the ongoing loss of a dark night sky for much of the world’s population. Toward this end, a range of programs and resource materials has been developed. Everyone is invited to use any of these as local solutions to a global problem.
				Global Astronomy Month One people - one sky Professional and amateur astronomers, educators and all astronomy enthusiasts worldwide are invited to celebrate the Universe in April 2010, during Global Astronomy Month – an international project that builds on the achievements of The International Year of Astronomy 2009, by combining a wide array of activities with the possibility of sharing experiences in real-time!.
				International Dark-Sky Week (NDSW) April 4 to 10, 2010 From April 4 through April 10, 2010, International Dark Sky Week celebrates the heritage of the nighttime sky by encouraging people to turn of unnecessary lights. The event began in 2003 as National Dark-Sky Week in the United States and officially became international in 2009, the International Year of Astronomy. The key to success is the broadest possible participation.
				3 - 16 March GLOBE at Night 2010 GLOBE at Night is an annual 2-week campaign in March. People all over the world record the brightness of their night sky by matching its appearance toward the constellation Orion with star maps of progressively fainter stars. They submit their measurements on-line and a few weeks later, organizers release a map of light-pollution levels worldwide. Over the last five GLOBE at Night campaigns, volunteers from over 100 nations have contributed 51,000 measurements. A record number of over 16,000 of these measurements came from this year’s campaign.
				Earth Hour 2010 Climate Change On March 27, 2010 at 8:30 pm, millions of people around the world will come together once again to make a bold statement about their concern for climate change by doing something quite simple—turning off their lights for one hour. Earth Hour symbolizes that, by working together, each of us can make a positive impact in the fight against climate change. In March 2009, during the International Year of Astronomy, more than 4100 cities in 87 countries and over 1 billion people around the world turned off their lights for Earth Hour to demonstrate their commitment to slowing the effects of climate change.
				The World At Night (TWAN) Earth and Sky Photo Contest Winners Announced Winners of the International Earth and Sky Photo Contest on Dark Skies Importance were announced last week by The World At Night (TWAN) and Dark Skies Awareness. Submissions to the contest had been received during the second half of International year of Astronomy 2009.
				STARLIGHT DECLARATION Declaration in Defence of the Night Sky and the Right to Starlight One of the achievements of the Starlight Initiative was the “Declaration in Defence of the Night Sky and the Right to Starlight”. During the Starlight Conference (2007) was agreed to designate and promote April 20th as the "World Night for the Right to Observe the Stars"..
				From Earth to the Universe Astronomy Education From Earth to the Universe (FETTU) is a collection of astronomical images that will showcase the most dramatic views of our Universe. The images represent the incredible variety of astronomical objects that are known to exist – planets, comets, stars, nebulae, galaxies and the clusters in which they congregate – and is being exhibited in over 250 locations throughout the world in 2009 and 2010.
				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.
				The Right to Starlight Laws and ordinances Sky Law. The exceptional quality of the sky for observation over the Canaries is protected by Law 31/1988; which is known as the "Sky Law". "Norma Lumínica", OPCC, Chile Starlight Reserve Statewide Lighting Law - Hawaii Lombardia Law - the most recent and advanced regional law to protect the night sky. Slovenia Light Pollution Law - 2007
				Publication Starlight: A Common Heritage Proceedings of the International Conference in Defence of the Quality of the Night Sky and the Right to Observe the Stars. 16 MB

Sustainable Energy Europe Campaign

The proposal to promote April 20th as "World Night for the Right to Observe the Stars" was approved during the Starlight Conference held in 2007 in La Palma. The Conference was jointly organized by the La Palma Biosphere Reserve, the IAC (Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias), the Canary Islands Government, the Spanish Ministry of the Environment, IAU (International Astronomical Union), the MaB programme and the UNESCO.

This proposal was presented at the Conference by the Government of the Canary Islands to commemorate the day when the Declaration would be approved. “The World Night” original idea was conceived by the Chairman of the Starlight Scientific Committee, Prof. Jafar Jafari.