In this episode of Dark Skies Conversations, Marnie Ogg is joined by Naomi Miles and Grant Salmond from the Australian Age of Dinosaurs in northern western Queensland near Winton. They discuss their passion for dark skies and how they have expanded their successful museum based on paleontology and archaeology with dinosaurs to create an iconic destination for stargazing. The episode highlights the efforts and activities at the Australian Age of Dinosaurs and encourages listeners to visit and share their thoughts. Tune in to this episode to learn more about this unique outback space and its enthusiastic dark sky enthusiasts. For more details on Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum: https://www.australianageofdinosaurs.com This interview is presented as part of International Dark Sky Week 2023. For more details and resources for International Dark Sky Week, please visit https://www.darksky.org Email Marnie: - marnie@darkskytraveller.com.au Marnie Ogg talks with some of the brightest minds about light pollution and ways to protect our night skies. For more details, visit the Dark Sky website: https://www.darkskytraveller.com.au/podcast Subscribe, rate and review at Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify and all good podcast apps. Stream on demand from https://www.bitesz.com/show/dark-sky-conversations/ For more podcasts visit our HQ at https://bitesz.com

In this episode, Marnie Ogg interviews Chris Tugwell, a South Australian man based in Adelaide who is a film writer, land care worker, and a Dark Sky entrepreneur. Chris shares his passion for making things happen, and how he transformed a small patch of private land on the Murray River into Australia's first Dark Sky Reserve. Through his connections with local government, tourism providers, and the general community, Chris expanded the area and made it a top tourist destination. Marnie and Chris discuss the importance of conservation efforts and how we can all be inspired to create more Dark Sky spaces. This interview is presented as part of International Dark Sky Week 2023. For more details and resources for International Dark Sky Week, please visit https://www.darksky.org Email Marnie: - marnie@darkskytraveller.com.au Marnie Ogg talks with some of the brightest minds about light pollution and ways to protect our night skies. For more details, visit the Dark Sky website: https://www.darkskytraveller.com.au/podcast Subscribe, rate and review at Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify and all good podcast apps. Stream on demand from https://www.bitesz.com/show/dark-sky-conversations/ For more podcasts visit our HQ at https://bitesz.com#darkskies #internationaldarkskyweek2023 #astronomy

In this episode of Dark Sky Conversations, host Marnie Ogg interviews John Whittle, who works for the National Parks and Wildlife Service in New South Wales. John manages the Warrumbungle National Park, which is the first Dark Sky park in the southern hemisphere. With a background in forestry, John oversees a team of rangers and field officers who are responsible for managing the park's environmental aspects, improving biodiversity, managing pests and weeds, and maintaining visitor infrastructure. He also keeps people informed about the work they do and the importance of preserving dark skies. This interview is presented as part of International Dark Sky Week 2023. For more details and resources for International Dark Sky Week, please visit https://www.darksky.org Email Marnie: - marnie@darkskytraveller.com.au Marnie Ogg talks with some of the brightest minds about light pollution and ways to protect our night skies. For more details, visit the Dark Sky website: https://www.darkskytraveller.com.au/podcast Subscribe, rate and review at Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify and all good podcast apps. Stream on demand from https://www.bitesz.com/show/dark-sky-conversations/ For more podcasts visit our HQ at https://bitesz.com

S03E03 Johan Eklof - Author ‘The Dark Sky Manifesto’ If you’d like to buy a copy of Johan’s book as discussed in this episode, you can find it on Amazon at: Hardcover: https://amzn.to/3MMvzw7 Kindle: https://amzn.to/41p1lnm Paperback: https://amzn.to/3ojWMw0 Audiobook: https://amzn.to/41uFv1r Part 3 in our series celebrating International Dark Sky Week. In this episode of Dark Sky Conversations, host Marnie Ogg is joined by special guest Johan Eklof (in Sweden), author of The Dark Sky Manifesto. Johan shares his passion for changing our perception of the night environment, which has historically been associated with negativity and fear. Through his work as a bat researcher and author, Johan advocates for creating dark sky places and activities that embrace the beauty and wonder of the night. Marnie highly recommends Johan’s book for its poetic and well-researched approach to this topic. Listen to this inspiring conversation to learn more about the importance of preserving the night environment. For more details and resources for International Dark Sky Week, please visit https://www.darksky.org Email Marnie: - marnie@darkskytraveller.com.au Marnie Ogg talks with some of the brightest minds about light pollution and ways to protect our night skies. For more details, visit the Dark Sky website: https://www.darkskytraveller.com.au/podcast Subscribe, rate and review at Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify and all good podcast apps. Stream on demand from https://www.bitesz.com/show/dark-sky-conversations/ For more podcasts visit our HQ at https://bitesz.com#podcast #darkskies #internationaldarkskyweek #darksky

In this episode as part of International Dark Sky Week, I get to chat with Professor Chris Lidman, the director of Siding Spring Observatory, where we discuss the importance of dark sky conservations. The Siding Spring Observatory was the first place in Australia to introduce Dark Sky guidelines, and there is currently an update being done to them. The conversation covers the National Optical Telescope for Australia, which is located in Coonabarabran and surrounded by The Crooked Mountains or locally as the Warrumbungles. The site is a popular holiday destination, particularly for families. The Dark Sky guidelines can be found on the New South Wales Department of Planning website and can be used to create Dark Sky conservation principles. For more details and resources for International Dark Sky Week, please visit https://www.darksky.org Email Marnie: - marnie@darkskytraveller.com.au Marnie Ogg talks with some of the brightest minds about light pollution and ways to protect our night skies. For more details, visit the Dark Sky website: https://www.darkskytraveller.com.au/podcast Subscribe, rate and review at Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify and all good podcast apps. Stream on demand from https://www.bitesz.com/show/dark-sky-conversations/ For more podcasts visit our HQ at https://bitesz.com

S03E01 Jessica Heim – Cultural Astronomer Marnie Ogg welcomes her guest, Jessica Heim, to Dark Sky Conversations to discuss the impacts of light at night caused by satellite mega constellations, including those launched by Elon Musk and other organizations. Heim, who is a resident of Missouri and a student at the University of Southern Queensland, shares her research on the potential risks of increased space junk and clutter caused by these tens of thousands of satellites. Marnie mentions that Heim's paper, written in collaboration with John Barrentyne, has received a great deal of attention in the Australian media and abroad. The conversation promises to be an exciting one for those interested in the effects of satellite mega constellations on the night sky.A part of International Dark Sky Week. For more details and resources for International Dark Sky Week, please visit https://www.darksky.org - Email Marnie: - marnie@darkskytraveller.com.au Marnie Ogg talks with some of the brightest minds about light pollution and ways to protect our night skies. For more details, visit the Dark Sky website: https://www.darkskytraveller.com.au/podcast Subscribe, rate and review at Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify and all good podcast apps. Stream on demand from https://www.bitesz.com/show/dark-sky-conversations/

Dark Sky ConversationsS03E11 Louise Beer – Artist & Curator Something special with this episode…an invitation to listen to and experience the work of Louise Beer, Artist and Curator. Louise has kindly shared her original performance piece titled ‘In Memory of Darkness’. So stick around at the end of the interview, make sure your listening on headphones and immerse yourself.Louise welcomes your feedback on the experience so please visit her website to find out more about her work and leave your comments. https://www.louisebeer.com Email Marnie: - marnie@darkskytraveller.com.au Marnie Ogg talks with some of the brightest minds about light pollution and ways to protect our night skies.For more details, visit the Dark Sky website: https://www.darkskytraveller.com.au/podcastSubscribe, rate and review at Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify and all good podcast apps.Stream on demand from https://www.bitesz.com/show/dark-sky-conversations/ For more podcasts visit our HQ at https://bitesz.com #darkskies #nightskies #pollution #lightpollution

Dark Sky ConversationsS03E10 Ashton Dickerson Continuing on our ecology strain of the impacts of light at night on the environment. Today. My very special guest is Ashton Dickerson, who again is with University of Melbourne. Maybe there's a little bit of work happening down there with artificial light at night. And she has made the headlines. In fact, she made Catalyst, the ABC science show in Australia, where they talked about the impacts of light at night on our urban bird species, in particular the Willie Wagtail. Enjoy.Visit Ashton’s University of Melbourne webpage for more: https://biosciences.unimelb.edu.au/news/hbos/ashton-dickerson-humans-of-bioscience ABC Catalyst Episode mentioned in interview: https://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/the-secret-lives-of-our-urban-birds/13734884 Email Marnie: - marnie@darkskytraveller.com.au Marnie Ogg talks with some of the brightest minds about light pollution and ways to protect our night skies.For more details, visit the Dark Sky website: https://www.darkskytraveller.com.au/podcastSubscribe, rate and review at Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify and all good podcast apps.Stream on demand from https://www.bitesz.com/show/dark-sky-conversations/ For more podcasts visit our HQ at https://bitesz.com #podcast #darkskies #nightskiy #willywagtails

Dark Sky ConversationsS03E09 Shearwaters You know, when you get to talk to people who are really passionate about what they're doing? Well, that's what comes across in this interview that I did with Dr. Duncan Sutherland and Jessica McKelson at the Phillip Island Nature Park, where we talk about shearwaters and this huge migration that happens in about April, May every year. And the campaign that they ran, which was dark skies, sheer waters fly and incorporated the local community, a lot of great minds and a lot of hard effort just to make sure that these fabulous birds took off, took flight, and made their way all the way to the Northern Hemisphere in one single swoop. Enjoy.Email Marnie: - marnie@darkskytraveller.com.au Marnie Ogg talks with some of the brightest minds about light pollution and ways to protect our night skies.For more details, visit the Dark Sky website: https://www.darkskytraveller.com.au/podcastTo learn more about the Shearwater Migration Campaign visit https://penguins.org.au/discover/wildlife-conservation/ Subscribe, rate and review at Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify and all good podcast apps.Stream on demand from https://www.bitesz.com/show/dark-sky-conversations/ For more podcasts visit our HQ at https://bitesz.com #shearwaters #migration #phillipisland #shearwaterresearch #darkskies #darkskiesaus

Show NotesDark Sky ConversationsS03E08 Emily Fobert – Is Light Pollution Killing Clown Fish? Hi and welcome to this episode, an ecology event around the impacts of light at night featuring Dr. Emily Fobert who is a research fellow in the Fishery Science and Biosciences Department of the University of Melbourne. I've had the pleasure of meeting Emily, who did a fantastic talk live for me a couple of years ago and was one of our favorite speakers at the event. She has an interesting perception of life through the marine and freshwater environment and put this to good use with a research piece of work that she did on our little friend Nemo. Now know you've hit on luck when you're getting tweeted and repeated and on every form of media when your research has developed so much that everybody's talking about it. And that's exactly what happened with the work that she did on the impacts of light at night on the clownfish. Join me and Emily as we discuss this and get an insight into her research. As always at the end, if you have any questions, please email us at marnie@darkskytraveller.com.au or you can see her web page at the University of Melbourne. Dr. Emily Fobert.For more about Emily and her work visit:https://biosciences.unimelb.edu.au/news/hbos/dr-emily-fobert-humans-of-biosciences https://findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/scholarlywork/1538141-the-influence-of-spectral-composition-of-artificial-light-at-night-on-clownfish-reproductive-success https://emilyfobert.wixsite.com/emilyfobert Email Emily: emily.fobert@flinders.edu.auEmail Marnie: - marnie@darkskytraveller.com.au Marnie Ogg talks with some of the brightest minds about light pollution and ways to protect our night skies.For more details, visit the Dark Sky website: https://www.darkskytraveller.com.au/podcastSubscribe, rate and review at Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or all good podcast apps.Stream on demand from https://www.bitesz.com/show/dark-sky-conversations/ For more podcasts visit our HQ at https://bitesz.com #clownfish #nemo #lightpo;;ution #universityofmelbourne

S03E07 Marlin – Author and Astrotourist Michael Marlin (aka Marlin) is a Dark Sky ambassador for the International Astronomical Union and International Dark-Sky Association. He is a public speaker on the solutions to light pollution and astrotourism for tourism boards, city councils, utility companies, educational institutions and science-centers, and his TEDx talk, Embracing Darkness, can be found online. He was awarded the Presidential Service Award from Barack Obama and is currently working on a television series where he will be hosting as “The Astrotourist.” (Amazon)To check out and purchase Marlin’s book, ‘Astrotourism: Star Gazers, Eclipse Chasers and the Dark Sky Movement’ https://amzn.to/3H24tKY (affiliate link…we may receive a small payment if you purchase via this link).Marnie Ogg talks with some of the brightest minds about light pollution and ways to protect our night skies.For more details, visit the Dark Sky website: https://www.darkskytraveller.com.au/podcastSubscribe, rate and review at Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or all good podcast apps.Stream on demand from https://www.bitesz.com/show/dark-sky-conversations/ For more podcasts visit our HQ at https://bitesz.com

Dark Sky ConversationsS03E06 Jackson Stigwood – Lighting Designer Jackson StigwoodBDes, MArch, Tech IES, Assoc. IALDJackson is the founding director of A Billion Suns. He moved into lighting architecture and design in 2008, working on a range of projects in Australia, Asia, the Middle East and Europe. He takes a keen interest in conducting lighting research at both macro and micro scales in the built and urban environment. The practice uses this research to understand key issues that need to be addressed as well as highlighting design opportunities for future development.Since 2015 Jackson has been an active member and coordinator of the Victorian chapter of the International Association of Lighting Designers (IALD). In 2019 he began the podcast series Light, Cities and Architecture, as a platform to provide lighting education to the community whilst raising awareness of the lighting design profession. In 2020 he launched the Cri Awards, a publicly funded initiative which seeks to highlight, design, and implement positive community change to awfully lit environments within our cities. He firmly believes that whilst we push the design boundaries at the top of the lighting industry, we must also be consciously aware and making improvements to the bottom line within our cities.jackson@abillionsuns.com.auYouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHT4dzN4yOIhaTa2916MH9QMarnie Ogg talks with some of the brightest minds about light pollution and ways to protect our night skies.For more details, visit the Dark Sky website: https://www.darkskytraveller.com.au/podcastSubscribe, rate and review at Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or all good podcast apps.Stream on demand from https://www.bitesz.com/show/dark-sky-conversations/ For more podcasts visit our HQ: https://bitesz.com

Dark Sky ConversationsS03E05 Professor Clive RugglesJoin Professor Clive Ruggles as a special guest from this recent Dark Sky Aus webinar as he discusses latest research in a subject that’s close to his heart and in which he’s a world authority, Archaeoastronomy.Archaeoastronomy (also spelled archeoastronomy) is the interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary study of how people in the past "have understood the phenomena in the sky, how they used these phenomena and what role the sky played in their cultures". Clive Ruggles argues it is misleading to consider archaeoastronomy to be the study of ancient astronomy, as modern astronomy is a scientific discipline, while archaeoastronomy considers symbolically rich cultural interpretations of phenomena in the sky by other cultures. It is often twinned with ethnoastronomy, the anthropological study of skywatching in contemporary societies. Archaeoastronomy is also closely associated with historical astronomy, the use of historical records of heavenly events to answer astronomical problems and the history of astronomy, which uses written records to evaluate past astronomical practice. (Wikipedia)Marnie Ogg talks with some of the brightest minds about light pollution and ways to protect our night skies.For more details, visit the Dark Sky website: https://www.darkskytraveller.com.au/podcastSubscribe, rate and review at Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or all good podcast apps.Stream on demand from https://www.bitesz.com/show/dark-sky-conversations/

Dark Sky Conversations with Marnie OggS02E04 Dr. John BarentineI think John’s twitter bio says it all:Astronomer. Historian. Arizona native. Proud LGBT American. Retiring to asteroid 14505. Questioning everything; occasionally getting in trouble for it.You’ll find John on Twitter @JohnBarentine or his website https://www.darkskyconsulting.com/ Dark Sky Conversations Website: https://www.darkskytraveller.com.au/podcast and https://www.bitesz.com/show/dark-sky-conversations/ Email Marnie at podcast@darkskytraveller.com.au Subscribe, rate, and review at Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or any good podcast app.#astronomy #science #light #lightpollution #darkskies #darksky #nightsky

Dark Sky Conversations with Marnie OggS02E03 Satellite Hunting | March 2021How to use this podcast:1.Plug your headphones in2.Make sure it is a clear night…if so…head outside to a quiet spot with a clear view of the night sky.3.Look up4.Hit play and let Marnie show you how to find satellites in the night sky..5.Enjoy!Dark Sky Conversations Website: https://www.darkskytraveller.com.au/podcast and www.bitesz.com/darkskyconversations Email Marnie at podcast@darkskytraveller.com.auSubscribe, rate, and review at Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or any good podcast app.#astronomy #science #light #lightpollution #darkskies #darksky #nightsky Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/dark-sky-conversations.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Dark Sky Conversations with Marnie OggS02E02 Your Night Sky Guide | February 2021How to use this podcast:1.      Plug your headphones in2.      Make sure it is a clear night…if so…head outside to a quiet spot with a clear view of the night sky.3.      Look up4.      Hit play and let Marnie guide you through what you are seeing.5.      Enjoy!Dark Sky Conversations Website: https://www.darkskytraveller.com.au/podcast and www.bitesz.com/darkskyconversations Email Marnie at podcast@darkskytraveller.com.au Subscribe, rate, and review at Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or any good podcast app.#astronomy #science #light #lightpollution #darkskies #darksky #nightsky Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/dark-sky-conversations.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Dark Sky Conversations with Marnie OggS02E01 Your Night Sky Guide | January 2021 How to use this podcast:1.      Plug your headphones in2.      Make sure it’s a clear night…if so…head outside to a quiet spot with a clear view of the night sky.3.      Look up4.      Hit play and let Marnie guide you through what you’re seeing.5.      Enjoy!Dark Sky Conversations Website: https://www.darkskytraveller.com.au/podcast and www.bitesz.com/darkskyconversations Email Marnie at podcast@darkskytraveller.com.au Subscribe, rate, and review at Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or any good podcast app.#astronomy #science #light #lightpollution #darkskies #darksky #nightsky Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/dark-sky-conversations.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

My guest today, Ada Blair - a counsellor and psychotherapist at the University of Edinburgh. Author of ‘An Exploration of the Role that the Night Sky Plays in the lives of the Dark Sky Island Community of Sark’, her research, conducted on Sark in 2014, addresses the 'missing sky' factor within ecopsychology and health and environmental psychology. Intuitive inquiry is employed to explore the following themes: human desire to see the night sky, commercialisation of this desire through astronomical tourism, the nature of nature, fear of the dark, and nature and wellbeing.Research findings show skywatching facilitating family/community connections and improving wellbeing, the transmission of sky stories, childhood sky memories, a fearlessness of the dark and the phenomenon on moonless nights of an absent horizon, whereby sky and land appear as one.For more, visit:An Exploration of the Role that the Night Sky Plays in the Lives of the Dark Sky Island Community of SarkSark in the DarkMarnie Ogg is talking to some of the brightest minds in their field, about the topic of light pollution and ways to protect our night skies.For more information about the Unihedron range, visit their website at http://unihedron.com/ Dark Sky Conversations Website: https://www.darkskytraveller.com.au/podcast and www.bitesz.com/darkskyconversations Email Marnie at podcast@darkskytraveller.com.au Subscribe, rate, and review at Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or any good podcast app.#astronomy #science #light #lightpollution #darkskies #darksky  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

My guest today, Anthony Teckatch - developer and co-owner of the Unihedron Sky Quality Meter system.The "Sky Quality Meter" measures the brightness of the night sky in magnitudes per square arcsecond. Designed by two friends, Dr Doug Welch and Anthony Tekatch, the Unihedron Sky Quality Meter handheld meter. enables scientists, researchers and night sky lovers to monitor sky brightness through the night, night-to-night, and year-to-year. Join Anthony as he shares the journey of the device, and some of the unanticipated ways it's been used.Marnie Ogg is talking to some of the brightest minds in their field, about the topic of light pollution and ways to protect our night skies.For more information about the Unihedron range, visit their website at http://unihedron.com/ Dark Sky Conversations Website: https://www.darkskytraveller.com.au/podcast and www.bitesz.com/darkskyconversations Email Marnie at podcast@darkskytraveller.com.au Subscribe, rate, and review at Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or any good podcast app.#astronomy #science #light #lightpollution #darkskies #darksky  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

My guest today, professor Tim Hunter, owner of the Grasslands Observatory in Tucson Arizona and co-founder of the International Dark Sky AssociationThe Grasslands Observatory was started in 1985 when Tim Hunter purchased 20 acres of land at a remote location in Southeastern Arizona approximately an hour's drive from Tucson. The site has no horizon obstructions in any direction and sits on a large grassy plateau surrounded by distant mountains. It is at 5000 feet elevation, and there is only minor light pollution from distant Tucson, Sierra Vista, and Nogales, Arizona (and Sonora, Mexico).Marnie Ogg is talking to some of the brightest minds in their field, about the topic of light pollution and ways to protect our night skies.For more from Tim, visit his website at http://grasslandsobservatory.com/Website: https://www.darkskytraveller.com.au/podcast and www.bitesz.com/darkskyconversationsEmail Marnie at podcast@darkskytraveller.com.au Subscribe, rate, and review at Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or any good podcast app.#astronomy #science #light #lightpollution #darkskies #darksky  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.