Dark Sky Idol final round approaches

Can New Zealand win the coveted Dark Sky status for Tekapo? The competition is down to 5 finalists.

Down South, round Tekapo, they have some wonderfully dark skies and they want to keep it that way. The Starlight Reserve bid for UNESCO world Heritage status has made it through another round and is now one of 5 finalists:

Tekapo Night Sky. Photo by tpokorny.

The other sites included in the thematic study for world heritage approval are from Austria, La Palma -Spain; Chile and Hawaii. …

The UNESCO meeting this week heard from Austin that Lake Tekapo was a superb site with clear dark skies, but it does not have a large telescope. The pristine dark southern sky at Mt John by Lake Tekapo has great views of the centre of the galaxy and the Magellanic clouds, sites unknown in Europe. …

Mt John above the Tekapo township is considered one of the most accessible observatories in the world. The observatory is home to six telescopes including the country’s biggest telescope which measures 1.8m across and can observe 50 million stars each clear night.

[Via : New Zealand confirmed as one of five world heritage night sky reserve sites to go to Rio meeting next year | infonews.co.nz New Zealand's local news community.]

The next UNESCO world heritage meeting will be held in Rio de Janeiro in 2010.

The large size photo by tpokorny is absolutely stunning. Visit the original on Flickr to see it in all its glory.