Dark skies…over Southwest Kerry February 1, 2014
Posted by WorldbyStorm in Astronomy, Science.trackback
Some good news for sky watchers…
A 700sq km area in southwest Kerry is expected to be named an international “dark sky reserve”, securing the highest designation for the exceptional quality of its night sky.
It will be the first region in Ireland to receive such an award and – if it achieves “gold-tier” reserve status – the first region in the northern hemisphere to get this designation, spawning hopes for an astro-tourism spin-off.
The Cedar Lounge Revolution 
> > spawning hopes for an astro-tourism spin-off.
That’s the first thing to come to mind eh? And to think they have the cheek to think of us socialists as being economic illiterates. Tourism and property have never and will never make for a good economy.
And for that matter, why south-west Kerry? what kind of person interested in astronomy would want to run the risk of being killed by one of the Healy-Rae’s drunken *followers*…
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Yes, the emphasis on tourism is not great, but… there is a genuine scientific (and aesthetic) aspect to this which is places where it is possible to see the night sky without light pollution. Donegal can be good as well, but if you’re north of Dungloe you know you’re north of Dungloe
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I didn’t realise south-west Kerry was such a dangerous place. Personally I’d think the risk would be pretty minimal.
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Are you sure about that EC? I mean today they only want the right to drive whilst plastered, tomorrow they might be lobbying for the right to hunt heretics down with blunderbusses…
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I’m disgusted by your inaccuracy Liberius. It’s grossly unfair to suggest they’d hunt people down with blunderbusses. They have lobbied for the use of scythes, rakes, loys and angle grinders in human sacrifice but that’s an entirely different issue.
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😀
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There’s an unexplored opportunity in N.Korea.
‘North Korea has hardly any lights at all—just a faint glimmer around Pyongyang.’
http://earthsky.org/earth/view-from-space-north-korea-and-south-korea
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As it happens, I’m in south Kerry this weekend, and it’s the wind that’s highly dangerous. But I saw the milky way clearly, which I never see in Dublin, so the dark skies thing is true.
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I often stare at the sky. The lights make no difference if you’ve taken a few yokes
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