THE Ballarat Municipal Observatory and Museum is currently taking part in International Dark-Sky Week, drawing awareness to light pollution and loss of darkness in the night sky.<\/p>\n
Observatory manager and member of the International Dark-Sky Association Victoria, Judith Bailey, said both people and animals are negatively affected by unnecessary light at night-time.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re designed for moonlight at the brightest, and that\u2019s how our bodies have evolved,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll humans and wildlife produce melatonin and you can only produce that when it\u2019s dark. It protects us against cancer.<\/p>\n
\u201cHere in Victoria, we have the mountain pygmy possum and bogong moth which have been in critical numbers over the last three years because of damage to their environment including light pollution.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms Bailey said there are little things each person can do to reduce light-spill and pollution into the night sky, like only turning external lights on when needed, using warmer coloured lights, making sure they\u2019re no brighter than necessary, and directing the light only where it is required.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe could reduce light pollution tremendously and our electricity bills,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The week concludes this Saturday, but throughout the school holidays, people have been attending dark sky activities run by the Observatory, like discovering nocturnal wildlife at Woowookarung Regional Park and Lake Wendouree, and star gazing.<\/p>\n
\u201cVisitors from the UK last week were very impressed with how many stars they could see.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe still have a reasonably good sky at night in Ballarat compared to other places around the world, and Melbourne,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have some of the best objects to view. It\u2019s all worth protecting… and it\u2019s great to see that our next generation of young people are engaged with the environment.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
THE Ballarat Municipal Observatory and Museum is currently taking part in International Dark-Sky Week, drawing awareness to light pollution and loss of darkness in the night sky. Observatory manager and member of the International Dark-Sky Association Victoria, Judith Bailey, said both people and animals are negatively affected by unnecessary light at night-time. \u201cWe\u2019re designed for […]<\/p>\n