Sunday, February 8, 2009

New Zealand town is in the dark — and proud of it

A stone chapel is shown on the edge of Lake Tekapo under the sparkling sky in By RAY LILLEY, Associated Press Writer Ray Lilley, Associated Press Writer Sun Feb 8, 11:03 am ET

AP – A stone chapel is shown on the edge of Lake Tekapo under the sparkling sky in New Zealand's South Island …

TEKAPO, New Zealand – This little town is in the dark and proud of it.

Where other places greet the night by lighting up their streets and tourist attractions, this one goes the other way — low-energy sodium lamps are shielded from above, and household lights must face down, not up.

The purpose: to bring out the stars.

The town of 830 people on New Zealand's South Island is on a mission to protect the sight of the night sky, even as it disappears behind light and haze in many parts of the world.

The ultimate prize would be UNESCO's approval for the first "starlight reserve," and already the "astro tourists" are coming.

A group of 25 are huddled at midnight on a bare New Zealand hilltop, their faces numbed by an icy wind as they gaze up at the Milky Way.

"It's awesome, I mean it's like beyond words," says Simon Venvoort, 46, a management consultant from Amsterdam. "You see so much you aren't aware of..."

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