"What's more, I think this initiative should be a regular city-wide event held several times a year," says Professor Warrick Couch, Head of the School of Physics at the University of NSW.

The lights will be switched off temporarily on Friday and Saturday nights to allow a better view of the sky people attending the Festival of the Stars at Sydney Observatory.

But Professor Couch has called on householders and building managers throughout Sydney to join in as part of a community effort to better appreciate the night sky and to promote energy conservation.

"Most city dwellers don't realise what they are missing out on as a result of the light pollution that increasingly floods our evening skies. It's getting so bad that people can only see a tiny fraction of all those wonderful constellations, the great sweeping arc of the Milky Way and the celestial fireworks of meteors.

"Light pollution is also symptomatic of our heavy use of energy, which involves a lot of waste.

I've seen it myself from the observatory at Siding Spring, near Coonabarrabran: the glow of light from Sydney is clearly visible even from that distance.""

Living as we do in increasingly de-natured cities, being able to see the night sky is an important link to the natural world that should not be lost, Professor Couch argues.

"Ever since the dawn of time people have gazed up in wonder at these sights and have been inspired and intrigued by them.

"They serve to educate our children, are the sources of stories and knowledge and they help to remind us of our place in the Solar System, our galaxy and the wider Universe.

"Aborigines, for example, have had some wonderful traditional interpretations about the constellations.

"The Southern Cross was interpreted by some traditional groups in northern Australia as a giant stingray, being pursued by a shark, which was represented by the two "pointer" stars nearby.

"Others saw in the Southern Cross the footprint of a wedge-tailed eagle.

"These are marvellous stories and part of our rich human heritage. I'd love to see people switching off their lights this weekend and being able to share in that heritage simply by gazing up at the stars."

Media contact:
Faculty media liaison: Bob Beale 0411 705 435.