www.aftenposten.no/english/world/article1474652.ece

Iceland chooses darkness
The lights are going out in Iceland this week so people can gaze at the
night sky.

Authorities in the capital Reykjavik will turn off street lights on
Thursday evening and people are also being encouraged to sit in their
houses in the dark, writer Andri Snaer Magnason said on Wednesday. While
the lights are out, an astronomer will describe the night sky over
national radio.

The event is part of a film festival taking place on the small north
Atlantic island, which gets most of its electricity from abundant thermal
energy. The lights are due to go off at 10 p.m. (2200 GMT), about two
hours after nightfall, for half an hour.

Magnason said the capital's population of around 250,000 might be able to
see the Northern Lights, a flickering curtain of light often seen in
northern climes which is caused by solar particles being caught in the
Earth's magnetic field. Two other Icelandic towns will also turn off their
lights.

Blindly posted to:
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.,
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.,
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Didnt the university there close its observatory due to permanent cloud cover, they actually get more cloud cover then we do.

You know, if I had my own jet, I'd make the trip over just to see what this would be like. I would love to see somehthing similar done over here...

This is an exceptionally cool idea!

I don't think I've ever seen a more extreme example of an Astronomy out-reach program!

Bart.

Hi first post here. Long-time sky-watcher though.

Its an outstanding idea. Hopefully it might catch on in Ireland (we live in hope).

Hi first post here. Long-time sky-watcher though.

Its an outstanding idea. Hopefully it might catch on in Ireland (we live in hope).

Unlikley on that scale but the idea is being scoped out.

Cheers,
~Al

I'd love to see this happen here, was the crime rate in iceland affected by this on that night?

I'd love to see this happen here, was the crime rate in iceland affected by this on that night?

I havent managed to find out much in the way of reports from the event yet. I'll keep looking.

www.icelandreview.com/icelandreview/dail...amp;ew_0_a_id=234072

Stars blocked by clouds as Reykjavík goes dark(er)

Cloud cover blocked the stars yesterday evening as Reykjavík’s streetlights were turned off in order to enable city residents to have a better view of the sky. In other respects the darkening of Reykjavík went well. The lights were shut off at 10pm sharp in connection with the opening of the Reykjavík International Film Festival, and were turned back on half an hour later. This is reported in all the main media.

Reykjavík residents flocked into the streets to take part in the experience. Yet a slight sense of disappointment prevailed as a result of the cloud cover and also as there was still light visible even with the absence of streetlights. Businesses did not shut off their lights and there was a great deal of traffic on main roads and in the downtown area. Some sports arenas also failed to turn off their floodlights.

Foreign media showed considerable interest in the initiative, including the Washington Post in the US and Aftonbladed in Norway.

----

Someone asked about crime on the night. I don't know about the night in question but the following is running on the same news site "An out of control ice cream lover broke into a transport truck two nights ago and is still roaming the streets of the capital."

Cheers,
~Al

"An out of control ice cream lover broke into a transport truck two nights ago and is still roaming the streets of the capital."

Cheers,
~Al

Get yer pitchforks out

Won't somebody PLEEZE think of the children!

It WOULD be great to have a go at this here in Ireland - can we tie it in with events elsewhere? Shame we didn't know when Iceland was doing it - it was part of a film festival?
Tony

Editorial: Turn out the lights, stare at the stars
07 October 2006
From New Scientist Print Edition

There are not many things in the natural environment that all humans from all times and in all places can claim to have shared. One is the night sky - or at least it was until city lights obliterated for most of us this most potent reminder of our place in the universe.

Last week in Reykjavik the people of Iceland sought to reconnect with this great shared experience. For half an hour, they turned off the street lights and persuaded most households to dim their lighting so that everyone in the city could gaze at the stars.

There is something grand and humbling about this collective act that we could all usefully share. Outside Iceland, campaigners against light pollution seem reluctant to push the idea, so we're taking up the gauntlet. Let every country set aside an hour each year when we turn out the lights. European city-dwellers will not have seen anything like it since the dark days of the second world war - except now they will be able to enjoy the spectacle in wonder rather than fear. If Reykjavik this year, why not London or New York next?

Of course, nature will not oblige everywhere. Last week in Iceland, many saw nothing but a blanket of cloud. Some will quibble over the practicalities. Wouldn't criminals have a field day? Probably not, since criminals need light as much as anyone to do their worst. Like the rest of us, they would simply have to stand and stare.

Where does the idea that lights deter crime come from? My next door neighbours' alarm did the job when a burglar tried to remove a pane of glass from the living room window but the bright streetlight beaming down on him so that anyone passing could see him clearly had no effect at all. Who's going to be passing at 4 am? A blind drunk neighbour if you're lucky, certainly not our bold gens sans armes.

If anything lights assist crime cause criminals can see what they're doing at night !!!! Less lights and ban torches.. no crime at night.. problem solved

That idea in Iceland is class. Some clear night in March we should do it here.. Actually try and learn the nation some smarts about the heavens.

I'm gonna scald the council in Carlow about it. This is my mission. I'm like that guy who built the rocket and went to the moon.. Whats his name. .. Apollo creed

That idea in Iceland is class. Some clear night in March we should do it here.. Actually try and learn the nation some smarts about the heavens.

I'm gonna scald the council in Carlow about it. This is my mission. I'm like that guy who built the rocket and went to the moon.. Whats his name. .. Apollo creed

Good! Let us know how you get on. Hopefully there will be some streetlight turn off at some stage during the International Year of Astronomy in 2009.

Looking south tonight towards Bray the light pollution was worse then i can ever remember. Must be all the christmas lights on peoples houses. Either that or there is a raging forest fire up the Dublin mountains(not likely).

See my Frenchman thread in Observing reports for my comments on the Bray Sky Glow......from the INSIDE!! Its usually just to the north of my from the Mainstreet area but it was all the way round tonight. I think its just more moisture/mist in the air than normal. Was fine last week and the XMas lights were on then too!

Those of you upset by Bray might like to join the ILPAC list and give David Wilcoxson a hand with getting the council there to do something.

I wouldnt say its only Bray light i'm seeing. Now i think about it it's also all the new lights on the roads up around cherrywood. The whole southern view from my place is lit up in a yellow glow. The only real thing i can see when looking south is Sirius and anything higher up.