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back to article Greenwich celebrates International Year of Astronomy

The Royal Observatory has announced a packed programme of events in celebration of the International Year of Astronomy 2009 (slogan: “The Universe – yours to discover”) - 400 years after Galileo turned his attention to the heavens and made the case for a heliocentric solar system. The Observatory plans to get ten million …

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Let's hope...

    ...it's a cross UK programme, not another London only event, seeing we all fund it.

    http://www.nmm.ac.uk/explore/astronomy-and-time/astronomy-facts/general/funding-uk-astronomy

    Not very handy for all of us that live outside the south east of England

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  2. Haku
    Unhappy

    Street lights

    Can someone please turn off the street lights so we can actually see something other than an ugly orange glow (even here in the 'countryside').

    Failing that, how about street lights that don't directly shine so much light upwards.

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  3. Christoph

    But what about?

    Moon, Mars, Saturn - nothing for Uranus?

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  4. Sarah Bee (Written by Reg staff)

    Re: Street lights

    Sure, I don't mind being dragged off into the bushes and assaulted if it means you get to look at the pritty stars. Sacrificing my safety is the least I can do to stop you being deprived of your Mooreian gazings.

    Smirk.

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  5. Robert E A Harvey
    Paris Hilton

    curious

    This looks like enormous fun, and I shall be trying to take part.

    Now to the el reg angle. How is it that Creationists are trying to stop the teaching of Darwinism, but have not yet tackled Astronomy?

    Paris, 'cos she thinks she is a star

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  6. David Nash Silver badge
    Stop

    Re: Street lights

    Actually all astronomers are asking is for the lights to point downwards. Light that leaks into the sky is simply a waste of energy, and so-called "security lights" help intruders find their way!

    More info at:

    http://www.britastro.org/dark-skies/floodlights.html?6O#disadvantages

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  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Re: Street lights

    Sarah, see http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/prgpdfs/fcpu29.pdf

    "What this review concludes is that improvements to street lighting can help to reduce the public’s fear of crime, but that they make less of a difference to the prevailing level of crime than many people would expect."

    Anyway, if it was dark why bother dragging you to the bushes?!

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  8. Sarah Bee (Written by Reg staff)

    Re: Street lights

    Yeah, but seriously, I'd really rather be able see who's walking behind me before they're close enough to breathe on my neck.

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  9. Haku

    @Sarah Bee

    It doesn't take a lot to engineer street lights that don't leak a lot of their light into the sky, the councils/government just don't give a crap.

    You must live in a city I take it? try living in a country town/village, you'll find yourself a lot less paranoid at night :)

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  10. Sarah Bee (Written by Reg staff)

    Re: @Sarah Bee

    I'm all in favour of less leaky streetlights, but I'm a bit staggered by the suggestion that wanting enough light to see other people by at night makes me 'paranoid'. I copped a minor assault last year from some little twerp, and I was glad to be able to see his face as I shouted in it. Would have been a hell of a lot scarier in the dark.

    And yes, I live in London, and to be honest I've found the quieter places I've lived scarier.

    Anyway, this is entirely off-topic and futile, isn't it.

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