Nigel Pollard (a member of this working group) reported at the Vienna IAU symposium and at ouir working group meeting in Manchester that the industry still rates lamps by their electrical power rating, rather than by how much light they give out. It will need a major effort to rectify this error, one of the root causes of light pollution. Nigel has agreed to follow up on this aspect for the WG. The WG has already started to make contacts with the lighting industry:
The CIE The Commission Internationale de Eclairage, based in Vienna, has two divisions of particular relavance to the work of the IAUWG.
CIE division 5 "Exterior and other Lighting Applications" covers most relevant engineering aspects of exterior lighting. This division lists document 01 "Guidelines for minimizing urban sky glow near astronomical observatories", an IAU/CIE joint publication in 1980. The division 5 secretary, Mr. Nigel Pollard, is a member of this IAUWG.
CIE division 4 "Lighting and Signalling for Transport" has a Technical Commission TC4.21 "Interference by Light with Astronomical Observations". Its 1994 publication X008 (ISBN 3 900 734534) is entitled "Urban Sky Glow, a worry for Astronomy". A meeting of CIE TC 4:21 took place during the IAU General Assembly in Manchester, to discuss a number of issues with astronomers. A follow-up meeting of TC4:21 took place during the meeting of CIE division 4 and 5 in Toronto in early September.
See also IDA Information sheet 48.
The IESNA The Illuminating Engineering Society of North America is an example of a large and particularly energetic national engineering group working in areas of interest to this IAUWG. Phil Ianna is an astronomer on the Board of Directors of the IDA who, like iauwg member Dave Crawford, has worked particularly closely with the IESNA.
See also IDA Information sheet 47.
The Chilean National Commision for the Environment (CONAMA) has developed significant engineering material on the subject of light pollution in Chile, in conjunction with Prof. Enrique Piraino of the Universidad Catolica de Valparaiso (and a member of this WG). The CONAMA bilingual web site has an overall discussion of the problem and a copy of the Chilean law regulating light pollution in English (click here for the "Norma Luminica" DFL No. 686/98 in Spanish) . CONAMA has also published a 45-page Manual de Aplicacion (download pdf file in spanish), giving technical guidance on how to apply the new national lighting regulations. In addition, the Chilean Office for the Protection of the Quality of the Sky (OPCC) in conjunction with the Superintendencia de Electricidad y Combustibles (SEC - the enforcement agency for the new national lighting regulations) has completed a training course for municipal employees in the IVth region who have responsibility for the implementation of these regulations. A Chilean lighting-engineering company (Faelec Lighting Systems) has begun marketing luminaires specifically designed to conform with the new regulations; these luminaires are certified by iauwg member Prof. Piraino's photometric laboratory at the Universidad Catolica de Valparaiso. Over 7000 Faelec luminaires have recently been installed in the city of Copiapo, Chile. This work has been featured prominently on regional television in a half-hour spot on quality lighting in Chile.
Prof. Piraino has been working as an adviser to the Municipality of Coquimbo on lighting a 93m high concrete, steel and glass cross, which is in direct line of sight to the Gemini South 8m telescope on Cerro Pachon. Cerro Tololo Interamerican Observatory has provided the funding necessary for this "crucial" local work. The IDA has recently awarded one of its international lighting prizes to Prof. Piraino for this work.
Last revised: 1st January, 2003