The Naseby community is now only weeks away from finally applying for its official ‘Dark Sky Community’ status.

Co-ordinator Jill Wolff said with Plan Change 22 secured - making it a Dark Sky Precinct and protecting the quality of the night sky from adverse effects of lighting, the committee could go ahead and submit its application to DarkSky International.

Naseby Vision has been working with the national DarkSky board in Auckland on the application, which has been peer reviewed, and likely to be submitted at the next meeting in May or June.

“It’s been quite a massive project as you could imagine,” she said, after almost nine years (2016).

The timing for the Dark Sky status would be perfect if it aligned with Matariki, but the group of six to seven members, made up of local astronomers and enthusiasts, needed to make sure they had all the requirements ticked off first.

“It’s not just about looking up at the beautiful night sky but protecting the nocturnal animals that are affected by natural light,” she said.

If successful, Naseby’s Dark Sky Community would be the first of its type in New Zealand. It differed from other IDA accreditations in New Zealand which were for ‘reserve’ and ‘sanctuary’ areas that did not have urban development.

Jill said that twice a year, the group held community events to share information and knowledge about the night sky, including last Friday.

But April and September were generally the only months that it worked because it was too light during summer evenings and too cold in the middle of winter.

Paul Bishop explaining day time sun viewing through a telescope

Last Friday the community held a day time telescope session where people learned about looking at the sun, and then watched a film which highlighted Maniototo skies through time lapse photography.

A night sky viewing with multiple telescopes, binoculars, astrophotography and laser-led viewing attracted more than 50 people, she said.

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