LIGHT POLLUTION AND ITS IMPACT
“The Ninth European Symposium for the Protection of the Night Sky”
The Market Place Theatre, Armagh
Thursday 17th to Saturday 19th September 2009

Wednesday 16th September

18:30 for 19:00, Royal Irish Academy, Dublin

18:30 Arrival at Royal Irish Academy, 19 Dawson Street, Dublin 2

19:00–19:20 Welcome and Opening Remarks

Representatives of RIA; Irish Government; Conference Organizing Committee

19:20–20:00 What is Light?

Leo Enright (Journalist and Science Broadcaster)

20:00–20:15 Question and Answer Session

Chaired by Mark Bailey

20:15–21:00 Discussion and Light Refreshments

Thursday 17th September

Pre-Conference Social Events: Thursday 17th September

13:30–14:45 Mayoral Reception (Armagh City and District Council)

The Mayor of Armagh City and District, Councillor Thomas O’Hanlon, will host a lunchtime reception for conference participants in the Mayor’s Parlour, The Palace Demesne. Those able to attend should contact Mark Bailey ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ). Numbers limited.

15:00–16:30 Easy Going Guided Walk of Armagh City Led by Barbara Ferguson (Armagh Guided Tours; see http://www.armaghguidedtours.com/).

Those interested should meet at the Armagh Tourist Information Centre at 15:00. The tour will take about 1.5 hours and cost £5.00 per person. No need to book.

Public Lecture: Thursday 17th September

19:00 for 19:30, Market Place Theatre, Armagh

17:00–19:30 Registration at The Market Place Theatre, Armagh

19:30–19:45 Welcome and Opening Remarks

Mark Bailey (Conference Organizing Committee) and Others

19:45–20:15 What is Light?

Leo Enright (Journalist and Science Broadcaster)

20:15–20:30 Question and Answer Session

Chaired by Mark Bailey

20:30–21:30 Discussion and Light Refreshments

21:30–23:00 Salsa DanceWorkshop in the Market Place Stage Bar

Miruna Popescu (Armagh Observatory) will provide light entertainment in a dark room for all those who want to learn a few steps of Latin-American dance in a relaxing atmosphere . . . Late Bar.

Friday 18th September

08:45–12:00 Registration at The Market Place Theatre, Armagh

09:00 Morning Coffee

09:30–11:30—Welcome Session

09:30–09:50 Welcome and Opening Remarks

Mark Bailey (Conference Organizing Committee); Councillor Thomas O’Hanlon (Mayor, Armagh City and District); Jim Nicholson (MEP, Northern Ireland); Peter Brabazon (DSE, Ireland) “DSE Programmes and the Smart Economy”; Mick Cory (Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure); and Others

09:50–10:35 Light Pollution: An Overview

John Mason (South Downs Planetarium, Chichester)

10:35–11:05 Frequently Asked Questions

Bob Mizon (Campaign for Dark Skies)

11:05–11:30 The International Dark-Sky Association: 21 Years of Night-Sky Protection

Kim Patten (Programs Director and Public Affairs, International Dark-Sky Association)

11:30–11:50 COFFEE

11:50–13:30—Policy Session

11:50–12:30 Intelligent Streetlighting

Sean Noone (Chairman and Managing Director, Superior Electronic Lighting Controllers [SELC] Ireland Ltd.)

12:30–12:50 Light Pollution in the Netherlands: Inventories and Movements in Dutch Policy

Dorien Lolkema (National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, The Netherlands)

12:50–13:10 LED Street Lighting and Light Pollution: New Political and Administrative Actions in Germany

Andreas H¨anel (Osnabr¨uck Planetarium)

13:10–13:30 Critically Appraising the Alleged Benefits of Lighting on Public Safety: New Results

Paul Marchant (Leeds Metropolitan University)

13:30–14:30 LUNCH — And Conference Photograph (Weather Permitting)

14:30–16:30—Environment and Astronomy Session

14:30–15:00 Shedding Light on Bat Behaviour—How Street Lights Disturb Commuting Bats

Emma Stone (University of Bristol)

15:00–15:30 The Turtle’s Tale— Environmental Impacts of Light Pollution

Sue Christie (Northern Ireland Environment Link, Belfast)

15:30–15:50 The Environmental, Social and Medical Implications of Light Pollution

Graham Cliff (University of Manchester)

15:50–16:10 Globe at Night: An International Citizen-Science Program to Measure Night-Sky Brightness. Involvement, Outcomes and Sustainability

Dr Constance E. Walker (U.S. National Optical Astronomy Observatory)

16:10–16:30 Astronomical Research with Small Telescopes in an Urban Environment

Simon Jeffery (Armagh Observatory)

16:30–17:00 TEA

17:00–17:45—Health Session (Plenary)

17:00–17:30 Plenary Session

17:00–17:20 Light Pollution and Sleep (Video)

Steven Lockley (Harvard Medical School)

17:20–17:30 Report from Dark-Sky Camp in Lastovo Island, Croatia (Video)

Andrej Mohar (Dark Sky Slovenia)

17:30–17:45 Plenary Discussion and Closing Remarks

17:45–24:00 Evening Tour to Dark-Sky Site at Beaghmore Stone Circles and Buffet Meal at An Creagan Visitor Centre, Co. Tyrone (Free to Registered Participants)

The coach (Orchard County Travel) must and will depart promptly at 18:00 from beside St. Patrick’s Church of Ireland Cathedral at the top of the hill close to the historic Armagh Public Library. We will arrive in time to witness sunset at Beaghmore (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaghmore), c.19:30, and will then have time to enjoy the displays and a buffet meal at An Creagan Visitor Centre (see http://www.ancreagan.com/), from c.20:00 to 21:30. Weather permitting, we return to Beaghmore for dark-sky observing until 23:00 and the coach will return to Armagh around midnight. Otherwise we will return around 22:30

19:30–21:00 Alternative Choice: A Free Visit to the Armagh Planetarium

Presentation and guided tour by Tom Mason, followed by Planetarium Show.

Saturday 19th September

09:20–09:30 Welcome Back

Albert White (Organizing Committee)

09:30–11:30—IDA and Dark-Sky Projects Session

09:30–09:40 Borrego Springs, California—A Dark Sky Community

James Hoban Rickard (Astronomer, and Member of the Borrego Springs Dark Sky Committee)

09:40–10:10 Dark Sky Discovery Project

Dan Hillier (Royal Observatory Edinburgh, UK Science and Technology Facilities Council, Scotland)

10:10–10:30 International Dark Sky Park Certification

Kim Patten (Programs Director and Public Affairs, International Dark-Sky Association)

10:30–11:30 International Cooperation (“IDA Town Hall Meeting”)

Bob Parks (Managing Director, IDA Washington DC Office of Public Policy and Government Affairs) and Friedel Pas (IDA Europe, IDA Board Member)

Bob Parks will lead an open forum discussion on the future of the IDA and how the IDA can become more international in scope, exploring new ways to enhance cooperation with light-pollution reform groups around the globe. Friedel Pas will also provide an update on IDA activities in Europe. All attendees are encouraged to bring fresh ideas for how organizations and countries throughout the world can work together to reduce light pollution.

11:30–12:00 COFFEE

12:00–13:00—Education Session

12:00–12:20 Light Pollution and Possibilities for Curriculum Inclusion

Robert Hill (Northern Ireland Space Office, Armagh Planetarium, Armagh)

12:20–12:40 How Many Stars CanWe Still See? 2001–2009

G¨unther Wuchterl (Th¨uringer Landessternwarte Tautenburg, Germany)

12:40–13:00 An Example of Energy and Environmental Education through Light Pollution in High-School Classes in Japan

Nobuaki Ochi (Yonago National College of Technology, Japan)

13:00–14:00 LUNCH

14:00–16:00—Technical Parallel Session (Held in Studio Theatre)

14:00–14:20 Small-Aperture Astronomy in the Modern Era: A Personal Account

Apostolos Christou (Armagh Observatory)

14:20–14:40 Looking for Dark Observing Places: Satellite Data and Sky Quality Meter (SQM) Measurements

Andreas H¨anel (Osnabr¨uck Planetarium)

14:40–15:00 Dark Sky Monitoring in Hungary

Zolt´an Koll´ath (Konkoly Observatory, Budapest, Hungary)

15:00–15:20 Results and Measurements from 4 Years of Light-Pollution Measurements in Holland

Wim Schmidt (Platform Lichthinder, Nederland)

15:20–15:40 Monitoring Night-Sky Brightness with a Lightmeter Network

G¨unther Wuchterl (Th¨uringer Landessternwarte Tautenburg, Germany)

15:40–16:00 A Simple Scale to Determine the Level of Light Pollution

Tomas Graf (The Observatory and Planetarium of Johann Palisa, VSB-TU, Ostrava, Czech Republic)

14:00–16:00—Education Parallel Session (Held inWorkshop 1)

14:00–16:00 The ‘Light Pollution Challenge’ Pilot: A 3-D Education Gaming Project

Organized by Robert Hill with additional support from the North Eastern Education Library Board (NEELB)

• Students from NI Years 8 and 9 and RoI Transition Year. Involved schools:

• St. Mary’s Grammar School, Magherafelt, Co. Derry
• St. Patrick’s College, Maghera, Co. Derry
• Carickfergus Grammar School, Co. Antrim
• Loreto College, Coleraine, Co. Antrim
• Belvedere College, S.J., Dublin
• St. Dominic’s High School, Santa Sabina, Dublin
• De La Salle College, Churchtown, Dublin
• Gonzaga College, S.J., Dublin

16:00–16:30 TEA

16:30–18:00—Final Plenary Session

16:30–18:00 Plenary Session

16:30–16:50 The Dark Skies Awareness Programs for the International Year of Astronomy: Involvement, Outcomes and Sustainability

Dr Constance E. Walker (U.S. National Optical Astronomy Observatory)

16:50–17:00 The IYA2009 UK Dark Sky Parks Initiative

Steve Owens (UK Coordinator for IYA 2009, Glasgow Science Centre, Scotland)

17:00–17:15 Report Back to Plenary Session from the “Light Pollution Challenge” Parallel Education Session

Robert Hill (Northern Ireland Space Office, Armagh Planetarium, Armagh)

17:15–17:35 International Dark-Sky Association Awards

Kim Patten (Programs Director and Public Affairs, International Dark-Sky Association [IDA]) and Friedel Pas (IDA Europe, IDA Board Member)

17:35–17:40 Next Year

Zolt´an Koll´ath (Konkoly Observatory, Budapest, Hungary)

17:40–17:45 Thanks and Closing Remarks

Albert White (Irish Light Pollution Awareness Campaign)

18:30–20:00 Public Lecture at Armagh Planetarium

Dr Don Pollacco (Queen’s University Belfast)

“Exoplanets — The Hunt for the Earth Analogue”

Don Pollacco is Project Scientist and originator of theWASP project (Wide Angle Search for Planets).

20:30–23:30 Conference Dinner, Armagh City Hotel