Bringing Back the Stars Over St. Louis - St. Louis Astronomical Society Meeting

How can St. Louis improve public health and safety, protect plants and wildlife, and bring back direct views of the Milky Way? Dr. James Lowenthal presents a tour of the worldwide Dark Sky movement, from local neighborhood groups to the United Nations. One new initiative he'll discuss is protecting dark skies over U.S. colleges and universities via the American Astronomical Society's Campus SHINE program now being developed.

James Lowenthal is the Mary Elizabeth Moses Professor of Astronomy at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, USA. He studies the formation and evolution of galaxies, especially actively star-forming galaxies, as well as exoplanets. He leads the local advocacy group Northampton City Lights. He also holds several positions with national and international Dark Sky advocacy groups and is Vice-President of the International Astronomical Union's Commission on Site Protection (i.e., light pollution).

The St. Louis Astronomical Society is an organization for individuals interested in astronomy and telescopes. The public is invited to attend its meetings, telescope observing sessions, and special events. For more information about Astronomical Society events, please visit www.slasonline.org.

Free parking will be available.

Header image: The effects of light pollution on viewing the sky at night. The southern sky, featuring Sagittarius and Scorpius. Orem, UT, in a metropolitan area of ~400,000