Starry, starry night

10:54am Wednesday 24th September 2008

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Starry-eyed expert and amateur astronomers in Pembrokeshire have told the Western Telegraph why they will be delighted to see street lighting cuts across the county.

The West Wales Astronomy Group, which meets every month to share experiences and use telescopes to seek out constellations and planets, has been campaigning to turn off street lights in Pembrokeshire for a while now in an effort to prevent light pollution.

Without complete darkness, it can be difficult to pick out even the brightest of stars in the night sky.

West Wales Astronomy Group Treasurer Paul Conti commented: “We used to meet at Trefach in the Preselis and sometimes we’d have weekend-long star camps. Pembrokeshire was known for its dark skies, especially up in the Preselis and we’ve had some amazing pictures there.

“It was one of the things that attracted astronomers as tourists to the area and nowadays there are a lot more amateur astronomers about because telescopes are a lot cheaper.”

He continued: “There is a law now against light trespassing and the council have been good, installing down lights rather than the old ones which would scatter light everywhere.

“However, there are still some young children who have never even seen the stars.”

Members of the group are keen supporters of the British Astronomical Association’s Campaign For Dark Skies and their views are clearly expressed on the home page of their own website reads: “We are in West Wales where we have some of the darkest skies in the UK. We are also campaigning for the preserving of our night skies.

“A lot of energy is wasted because of inefficient lighting, the sad fact is that if two cities were to illuminate the streets sensibly then a third city could be lit for free.”