Spiral Galaxy Image Benefits From Vigilance on Dark Skies (Forwarded)

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National Optical Astronomy Observatory
Tucson, Arizona

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Douglas Isbell
Phone: 520/318-8230

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, February 21, 2007

RELEASE NO: NOAO 07-03

Spiral Galaxy Image Benefits From Vigilance on Dark Skies

A beautiful new image of spiral galaxy IC 342 that takes advantage of the
dark night sky at Kitt Peak National Observatory is being released today
in Washington, DC, at the opening of "The Night: Why Dark Hours Are So
Important," a two-day symposium hosted at the Carnegie Institution.

IC 342 is located in the constellation Camelopardalis, "the giraffe." From
our perspective on Earth, this galaxy is viewed through much of the stars
and interstellar dust and gas within our own galaxy, the Milky Way. This
means that much of the star light from IC 342 is diminished before it
reaches us.

"Without all of the interstellar gas and dust between us and IC 342, it
would be one of the brightest galaxies in our night skies and a favorite
target for backyard astronomers," said astronomer Travis Rector of the
University of Alaska Anchorage. "Being able to produce an image like this,
through all that obscuring gas and dust, demands dark night skies like
those still found in Arizona at Kitt Peak, which are crucial for making
observations of this depth and sensitivity."

The image, obtained in late 2006, was taken using the 64-megapixel
Mosaic-1 digital imager on the Mayall 4-meter telescope by Rector and
Heidi Schweiker of the WIYN Observatory and the National Optical Astronomy
Observatory (NOAO) in Tucson, AZ.

IC 342 is located roughly 11 million light-years from Earth, in the next
group of galaxies beyond our Local Group. Its face-on appearance in the
sky -- as opposed to our tilted and edge-on views of many other nearby
galaxies, such as the large spiral galaxy Andromeda (M31) -- makes IC 342
a prime target for studies of star formation and astrochemistry, Rector
adds.

A recently completed study of the dark skies in southern Arizona and how
they may change over the next 25 years ("An Assessment of the Impact of
Growth on the Dark Skies of Pima County," D.R. Davis, et al., 2006) found
that continuing effective enforcement of the Outdoor Lighting Code adopted
by Pima County, ongoing public education, and minimization of
light-intensive land use near Kitt Peak should stabilize light pollution
at current levels. However, other observatories in Arizona face
significant threats without similar actions, the study found.

Speakers at "The Night" meeting in Washington include experts and
practitioners in fields ranging from astronomy, biology, medical and
behavioral research to anti-terrorist force protection, recreation and
parks management, illumination engineering and other engineering
disciplines.

The conference is co-sponsored by the American Astronomical Society, the
American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, the Association of
Universities for Research in Astronomy, the Ecological Society of America,
the International Dark-Sky Association, Monrad Engineering, the National
Optical Astronomy Observatory and the National Science Foundation (NSF)
and is supported by a grant from NSF¹s Division of Astronomical Sciences
and Office of Multidisciplinary Activities.

The new image of IC 342 is available in a variety of sizes at
http://www.noao.edu/image_gallery/html/im1032.html

Image credit: T.A. Rector/University of Alaska Anchorage, H.
Schweiker/WIYN and NOAO/AURA/NSF

The National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO), based in Tucson,
Arizona, includes Kitt Peak National Observatory southwest of Tucson,
Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile, and the NOAO Gemini
Science Center. It is operated by the Association of Universities for
Research in Astronomy Inc. (AURA), under a cooperative agreement with the
National Science Foundation.

The WIYN Observatory is a partnership between NOAO, the University of
Wisconsin, Indiana University and Yale University.


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