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Astronomer Steve Owens is heading to Saint Helena in the south Atlantic to see if the remote island is dark enough to qualify for 'international dark sky place' status
The small south Atlantic island of Saint Helena is about as remote as any place on earth gets. It lies 2,000km from Africa and 3,000km from South America, and I'm heading there for eight days this month to carry out a dark sky survey.
This survey will allow me to determine the quality of the night sky above Saint Helena – the darkness of the sky, but also the clarity of the stars – in anticipation of the island becoming an "international dark sky place", a designation awarded by the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA).
Light pollution is a common problem for astronomers living near cities; a familiar orange glow drowning out the light from all but the brightest stars in the night sky. With the spread of suburbia there are increasingly fewer places where stargazers can enjoy an unspoiled dark sky, but the further you travel from urban areas the more stars you will see, and Saint Helena as about as far as it's possible to be from the next town.
Under such dark skies, the Milky Way can be seen stretching from horizon to horizon in an arc overhead, and the heavens are studded with thousands of stars and many nebulae, including the dramatic Magellanic clouds not visible from far northern latitudes. Indeed, its location at 16º south of the equator means that virtually every constellation is on display at some time throughout the year.
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