Inter-Division B-C Commission WG Site Protection

Description

The Site Protection Working Group has the major objectives to:

• Develop and share site protection standards for near zones around optical and radio observatories
• Integrate radio protection standards to an even greater extent in optical observatory planning and operations.
• Provide a forum for astronomer efforts to enhance local and national legal frameworks for dark/quiet sky protection in the near zones around observatories (in collaboration with Technical WG).
• Support the IAU effort to obtain UN endorsement of dark/quiet sky protection of professional observatories through the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space
• Evaluate requests for IAU endorsement of proposals for special protection status to other entities, such as IDA.
• Educate professional colleagues about urgency of site protection issues; provision of supporting materials for their public presentations.  Includes interaction with radio astronomers for site protection against RFI.

Implementation of several aspects of this work depends on population of the Commission website with appropriate materials.  If there is sufficient interest, a moderated forum for discussion of local issues and approaches to site protection would be a valuable resource for sharing experiences.

Links:

• WG Annual Report (2021) - Site Protection
• WG Triennial Report (2018-2021) - Site Protection
• WG Annual Report (2019) - Site Protection

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Regular Working Groups, unless re-established by the same procedure, such Working Groups cease to exist at the following General Assembly.

Working Group Members (17)

Under

Inter-Division B-C Commission Protection of Existing and Potential Observatory Sites

Chair

Richard F. Green

University of Arizona
Steward Observatory
933 North Cherry Ave
Tucson AZ 85721-0065
Arizona (AZ)
United States

Phone: +1 520 626 7088
Organization website: https://www.as.arizona.edu/administration

NCA adherence: United States

Last updated:
December 12, 2023

Co-Chair

Saeko S. Hayashi

Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (Kavli IPMU)
5-1-5 Kashiwanoha
Kashiwa 277-8583
Kanto
Japan

NCA adherence: Japan

Last updated:
September 18, 2024