HYBRID – General Meeting – Aug 2023

Title:  Light Pollution and Dark Skies in Southern Arizona and Beyond

Presentation:  The world at night is lighting up at an alarming rate. A host of ecological and social consequences comes with this rapid environmental change, but solving this problem is simple and cost effective. In this talk John will review what we know (and don’t know) about light pollution, how it affects us, and which mitigation strategies are most effective. From there he will describe an effort to revitalize the Southern Arizona chapter of DarkSky International (DarkSky International was formerly known as the International Dark-Sky Association) and the plans for regional advocacy and action in coming years.

Bio: John Barentine is the Principal Consultant at Dark Sky Consulting, LLC, and was formerly the Director of Public Policy for the International Dark-Sky Association. He earned a Ph.D. in astronomy from the University of Texas at Austin, and previously held staff positions at the National Solar Observatory, Apache Point Observatory, and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. Throughout his career, he has been involved in educating the public about science. He is a member of the American Astronomical Society and the International Astronomical Union, and is a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society. The asteroid (14505) Barentine is named in his honor. His interests outside of astronomy and light pollution research include history, art and architecture, politics, law and current events.

Space Station Shot of Earth at Night. Credit: NASA