IAU CPS

Great to participate in the #ZeroDebris week at ESA’s European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) in Darmstadt as European Southern Observatory representative! Kudos to the ESA team for bringing together this diverse community from industry, academia and government to work in improving space sustainability 👏 The importance of this work was really brought home by being able to hold a piece of the Hubble Space Telescope, damaged by debris. My colleague Siegfried Eggl (IAU CPS) and I focused our inputs on concerns relating to dark and quiet skies. ✨ How space debris can contribute to diffuse night sky brightness ✨how space debris reduction technologies should be evaluated for their impacts on dark and quiet skies ✨how many practical aspects of “quiet” skies are NOT dealt with via the current spectrum management system. #spacepolicy #spacesustainability

It's great to see dark and quiet skies being featured at #COPUOS2024 with a side event panel discussion organised by the Permanent Missions of Chile 🇨🇱 and Spain 🇪🇸 scheduled for tomorrow, 20 June in Vienna. Responsible mission planning and operation of satellites in low Earth orbit is of utmost urgency to achieve the preservation of dark and quiet skies, benefiting both the scientific community and society by facilitating high-quality astronomical observations and preserving an invaluable natural and cultural resource. See the full programme here: https://loom.ly/vZujOgI #satellite #DarkAndQuietSkies

🎉 Congratulations to Associate Prof. Aaron Boley, co-lead of our IAU CPS Policy Hub, and Prof. Micheal Byers, both based at the The University of British Columbia who have been awarded The Donner Prize 2023 for their book "Who Owns Outer Space? International Law, Astrophysics and the Sustainable Development of Space". The book touches on several key areas of interest and concern for our community, including the legislation that governs satellite mega-constellations. The Donner Prize recognises the best public policy book by a Canadian in that calendar year. 📹 Watch their acceptance speech: https://loom.ly/rTThW7c Learn more about the IAU CPS Policy Hub's work here: https://loom.ly/KUQYFKY

#NEWS: We have issued our first recommendations paper urging action to address the impact of satellite constellations on astronomy 🛰️. 🔗 Read it here: https://loom.ly/n-5Iw6Y The 30-page paper is the result of 18 months’ work by experts including astronomers, industry representatives and policy advisors. It proposes measures and mitigation strategies for different stakeholders, including calling for satellite operators to adopt voluntary mitigations, and outlines the regulations needed at both the national and international level. NSF's NOIRLab, SKA Observatory, The International Astronomical Union

I was pleased to have facilitated the participation of European Southern Observatory in the development and signature of the European Space Agency - ESA Zero Debris Charter. ❓ Why is an astronomy organisation concerned about space debris, you might ask? ➡ We advocated for the inclusion of protecting dark and quiet skies in the guiding principles of the Zero Debris Charter in order to raise awareness of the responsibilities of space operators. ➡ Protecting the dark sky from excess artificial light and minimising unnecessary radio emissions are requirements for conducting world-leading astronomical observations of faint cosmic sources using ground-based observatories. ➡ Space debris jeopardises astronomical observations by artificially brightening the sky. Additionally, spacecraft - including those possibly used for debris mitigation techniques - can produce interference through the unintended reflection or emission of radiation. We hope that more satellite operators and manufacturers sign up to the principles and continue to increase the standards of space sustainability. 👉 More info here: https://lnkd.in/gtTV9Vui #spacepolicy #spacesustainability #darkandquietskies

Fantastic to see some media coverage of our #DarkandQuietSkies success at the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space SpaceNews: https://lnkd.in/daBVzdsm Research Professional: https://lnkd.in/dXcHisPN Even PCMag! https://lnkd.in/dvpYbWZD #spacepolicy #spacelaw

“A significant diplomatic moment for astronomy" - IAU CPS Interim Director Dr Richard Green hails the provisional agreement to put satellite constellations' impact on astronomy on the United Nations #COPUOS agenda, following a decision by its Scientific and Technical Subcommittee. Read the news: https://loom.ly/bm84NMg Championed by Chile 🇨🇱 and Spain 🇪🇸, the proposal was co-signed by 🇦🇷🇦🇹🇧🇪🇧🇬🇨🇴🇨🇿🇩🇰🇪🇨🇩🇪🇮🇹🇳🇱🇵🇾🇵🇪🇸🇰🇿🇦🇨🇭 and supported by The International Astronomical Union, ESO Astronomy, European Astronomical Society, and SKA Observatory, all permanent observers in the committee. #ScienceDiplomacy #Satellites

This is a comprehensive article addressing the latest on Dark and Quiet Skies and some key technical details - a story about conflicting uses of outer space, which points towards the challenge of space governance in the future. As part of the European Southern Observatory and the IAU CPS, we've had productive discussions with industry and regulators and achieved high levels of political awareness, such that policymakers recognise the problem. The next steps are very challenging. Voluntary efforts are a start, but in the longer term, we need sensible and technically informed regulation and licensing. This requires substantial effort and needs to be coordinated internationally. It's a matter of timescales - the space industry is moving very rapidly compared to astronomy, which requires decades to plan unique and highly complex observatories. It's a matter of government policy coherence - as stated in the article, the US gov is funding and supporting the space industry, and also the astronomy community, thus it's also the concern of US government to find mutually acceptable solutions. https://lnkd.in/dvEPHuJB; #spacepolicy #spacesustainability #astronomy

📽️ "Protecting the sky is the core mission because without the sky there is no science of astronomy" - The International Astronomical Union President-Elect Prof. Willy Benz's call to action on #DarkAndQuietSkies at the IAU Symposium on Astronomy and Satellite Constellations. Watch the video ⤵️ Around 250 people from astronomy, government, Indigenous communities, industry, law and academia were at the event in La Palma and online in October, to discuss the latest efforts to track and study #SatelliteConstellations, and plan the path forward. Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC), NSF's NOIRLab, SKA Observatory Antonia M. Varela Pérez, Connie Walker, Aaron Boley, Siegfried Eggl, Mila FRANCISCO, University of Bern

Great to see the prestigious journal Nature covering dark and quiet skies! Members of the CPS contributed to the BlueWalker 3 study featured on this cover. Professional and amateur astronomers worldwide found that at its peak, the satellite was among the brightest objects in the sky. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eMpm_H3r #satellites #DarkAndQuietSkies