Bid for accreditation will be developed at the NZ Starlight Conference this week
New Zealand could become the world’s first accredited ‘dark sky nation’ under plans to be discussed at an international light pollution conference this week at Tekapo in the South Island.
The four-day NZ Starlight Conference will present research on dark sky protection, lighting technologies and the environmental and health impacts of artificial light.
However, the main theme will involve developing a proposal to make NZ the world’s first dark sky country as part of an international campaign to protect the world’s night skies from light pollution.
Steve Butler, dark skies group director of the Royal Astronomical Society of NZ, said the conference had attracted more than 120 delegates.
“There are quite surprising interest levels from overseas. We do take it for granted in New Zealand that we can look up from most of [the country] and see a view of stars. That’s not possible for a huge number of people in the world,” he told Radio NZ.
The International Dark Sky Association was set up in 1988 by United States astronomers to work with urban planners, lighting engineers and local governments to identify the impacts of artificial light on human health, ecosystems and climate.
It has accredited around 100 dark sky places globally, including three in NZ. These are Aoraki Mackenzie dark sky reserve at Tekapo, Great Barrier Island dark sky sanctuary and Stewart Island dark sky sanctuary.
Butler said that gaining national dark sky accreditation for NZ would involve “controlling light, not avoiding it”.
“Cities don’t need to become dark as such [and] it shouldn’t be too hard to gain a commitment from NZ cities in terms of managing where they direct light and maybe reducing the time the light is on,” he said.
“Generally, it’s not so much about dimming light. There are a number of things that can be done—maintaining the right levels of light but avoiding all of the spill light.”
The conference runs from 20 to 23 October. Speakers include National Geographic night sky photographer Babak Tafreshi; marine biologist Karen Arthur, who has developed light pollution guidelines for the Australian government; Spanish astrophysicist and engineer Antonia Varela; and US environmental literature academic Paul Bogard, author of The End of Night.