IN THE NEWS
Publications & Broadcasts
 

Bill Trotter's article, "Acadia Night Sky Festival to feature art, talk, and stars," in the September 12, 2009 edition of the Bangor Daily News, discusses the many events of the festival as well as its significance in promoting tourism and the preservation of our night sky as a treasured national resource.

The August 13, 2009 Bar Harbor Times publicizes "New night sky programs in Acadia," including telescope viewing nights at Acadia National Park and the Acadia Night Sky Festival in September 2009. The article is available as a PDF.

Laurie Schreiber's article, "New festival to celebrate night sky," from the June 16, 2009 Bar Harbor Times, is an exciting preview of plans for the first Acadia Night Sky Festival, which will take place September 17-21, 2009.

The Mount Desert Islander again features the Island Astronomy Institute in two articles by Heather Steeves in the August 1, 2008 edition. "MDI Boasts Its Own Astronomy Institute" introduces our organization and its Starlit Communities initiatives:

"Just Look Up" includes star-gazing tips and is illustrated with beautiful astrophotos by the Institute's James W. Cormier. Ms. Steeves writes: “People just don’t enjoy the outdoors anymore,” Peter Lord, executive director of Island Astronomy Institute on Mount Desert Island, lamented this summer. “People are afraid.” For those unafraid of venturing outdoors at night, the Downeast region has some of the darkest skies left in the United States.

The Island Astronomy Institute's Dark Skies Initiative is featured in an editorial entitled "Dark Skies," in the May 16, 2008 issue of the Mount Desert Islander. The editorial discusses zoning regulations, public education, energy conservation, and voluntary actions taken by organizations and businesses to preserve the nighttime environment on MDI.

The Island Astronomy Institute and Friends of Acadia made the headlines with a front-page story, "Saving the Night Sky," in the April 5-6, 2008 Bangor Daily News. Bill Trotter's excellent article discusses growing awareness of the light pollution issue, and the efforts that many local communities and businesses are making to preserve the precious resource of our night sky.

The Winter 2008 issue of NASA ASK Magazine features two articles from the Island Astronomy Institute. Peter Homer's "The Astronaut Glove Challenge: Big Innovation from a (Very) Small Team" tells the inside story of how Peter transformed "a pile of failures sitting on his dining room table" into one of the most important innovations in spacesuit glove technology. Peter Lord's "Using the Space Glove to Teach Spatial Thinking" explores the significance of hands-on learning experiences for engineers and schoolchildren alike.

"Lights at Night Are Linked to Breast Cancer," according to a February 20, 2008 report by Washington Post staff writer Rick Weiss. "Women who live in neighborhoods with large amounts of nighttime illumination are more likely to get breast cancer than those who live in areas where nocturnal darkness prevails, according to an unusual study that overlaid satellite images of Earth onto cancer registries." For further commentary on the same study, see NPR's "Light May Be Connected to Breast Cancer."

Laurie Schreiber's "Eyes on the Sky" (Bar Harbor Times, January 14, 2008) discusses the service learning program at Pemetic School in Southwest harbor, where fifth-grade students are measuring light pollution.

A "Sunday Chat" with Institute Director Peter Lord appears in the November 11, 2007 edition of the Maine Sunday Telegram. The interview with staff writer Meredith Goad includes information about light pollution measurements on Mount Desert Island, the Institute's work in educational outreach and night sky preservation, and the awe-inspiring experience of living under a starry sky.

The September 4, 2007 edition of Maine Things Considered on MPBN included an interview with Institute Director Peter Lord. The interview begins at 17 min 44 sec. (Please note: The observatory mentioned in the broadcast is located on private property and is not part of the Institute as the segment suggests.)

David Owen's article, "The Dark Side: Making war on light pollution," in the September 5, 2007 issue of New Yorker magazine, has generated a great deal of interest in light pollution. He emphasizes the broad significance of this issue, discussing the adverse impact that poorly-designed lighting has on public safety and security, as well as the environment. You may download this excellent article as a PDF here.

Issue 68/69 of the Newsletter of the International Dark Sky Association includes an article about the first light pollution map of Mount Desert Island, which was created by College of the Atlantic students in collaboration with Peter Lord as part of the Island Astronomy Institute’s Starlit Communities Project.

The July-August 2007 issue of Acadia National Park’s newsletter, Beaver Log, features an article on the night sky and the Institute’s collaboration with Friends of Acadia. The article, "Protecting the Night," is available as a PDF here.

Our STARLAB 2007 Fundraising/Demonstration tour was the subject of "Starlab shines," by Laurie Schreiber, in the May 16, 2007 Bar Harbor Times.

The Institute's work on light-pollution mapping is featured in "Stars shine in dark skies," by Laurie Schreiber, in the March 23, 2007 Bar Harbor Times.

The Institute's starlit-sky initiatives are discussed in "Resource at Risk: Can Downeast Maine save its dark skies?" by Craig Idlebrook, in the February 2007 edition of Working Waterfront.

The Institute's president, Peter Lord, wrote an article entitled "Of Curiosity and Starlight" for the Fall 2006 issue of Friends of Acadia Journal. It may be downloaded as a PDF here.