Community Constellations of Culture Night
Event presented by Mayo Dark Sky Park
Pale Blue Dot mobile planetarium to visit Ballycroy for Culture Night Community Event
Wild Nephin National Park and Ballycroy Community Centre
20th September 2024
7pm to late – Admission Free
Mayo Dark Sky Park is collaborating with the Ballycroy Community to present a very special series of events for Culture Night 2024.
Ballycroy Community Centre will play host to the mobile planetarium Pale Blue Dot presented for the first time in Mayo by the Wild Nephin National Park and Ballycroy Visitor Centre together with the team from Armagh Observatory and Planetarium.
The planetarium’s name, Pale Blue Dot, was inspired by American Astronomer Carl Sagan’s inspiring quote describing the view of Earth from Space captured in 1990 by the NASA’s Voyager Spacecraft. The name captures perfectly humanity’s place in space and time in the vastness of the universe and the delicate nature of our important relationship with our planet.
There will be five shows across the evening and screenings will be of approximately 20 minutes duration. Each show will be filled on a first come, first served basis with plenty of other activities to do during the evening. Ballycroy Women’s Group will present World Food Night concurrently at the Community Centre, providing food and hospitality prepared especially for the evening. All are welcome.
For Culture Night, an especially designed “Star Trail” will also be available to experience and it will guide visitors to enjoy ample stargazing (weather dependent), biodiversity and indoor activities, as well as a dark sky walk, adjacent to the visitor centre of the National Park. At the Wild Nephin National Park Visitor Centre Special Astronomy introductions, both English and As Gaeilge will be screened on repeat adjacent to indoor astronomy activities, while at the Outdoor Classroom, will be the Under One Sky multi-sensory experience with sensory trail, telescopes and observation. For the late night owls, there will be a Dark Sky/ Stargazing Walk at 10.30pm, which will be a looped walk of approx. 1.5km (weather permitting).
Mayo Dark Sky Park, known as Wild Nephin National Park by day, has been collaborating with local communities to design and deliver the programme of events and collaboration is the ongoing theme for the Friends of Mayo Dark Skies Community group as it is partnering with Dark Sky Ireland to present the 9th International Scientific Conference of Artificial Light at Night in Westport next year, October 28 – 30, 2025.
The ALAN Conference will see academics, astronomers and night sky special interest groups gather in Mayo to discuss how and where light is produced and how it is interacting with ecology and the human experience of the Dark Sky at Night. Mayo is one of the must-visit locations for Dark Sky enthusiasts across the globe due to the low levels of light pollution in the area and it is hoped the conference event will support the growing global movement towards preserving the Dark Sky at Night through its programme of talks and events ranging from science and governance to dark sky outreach, and lighting design.
Ends.
“Look again at that dot, that’s here, that’s home, that’s us….
On it everyone you love,
everyone you know,
everyone you ever heard of,
every human being who ever was,
….. lived out their lives.”
Carl Sagan
Further details of Community Constellations of Culture Night are available at www.culturenight.ie.
Mayo Culture Night Events are available at www.culturenight.ie/mayo.
Notes to Editors:
Mayo Dark Sky Park was Ireland’s first Dark Sky Park and has been awarded a gold tier for the quality of its night sky, free from light pollution. It is an important asset of natural night sky heritage showcasing some of the darkest, most pristine skies in the world. Nestled between the remote Nephin Mountain Range and the unspoiled Atlantic coastline, the Dark Sky Park extends across an area of 150 square kilometers and its borders encompass the lands of Wild Nephin National Park. The site is completely free to access anytime, day or night and with 3 signature viewing sites to choose from. Further details are available from mayodarkskypark.ie.
Dark Sky Ireland’s mission is to protect and celebrate Ireland’s valuable Dark Sky Heritage through raising awareness of light pollution in Ireland and promoting and preserving Ireland’s Dark Skies. They are funded by the Heritage Council, the Community Foundation of Ireland and the National Lottery Funds. Further details are available at darksky.ie.
Friends of Mayo Dark Skies is a community group working to support the goals of Mayo Dark Sky Park. Founded by the communities of Newport, Mulranny and Ballycroy, the group is the host and organiser of the Mayo Dark Sky Festival, which takes place 1-3 November this year. Further details available at www.MayoDarkSkyFestival.ie
The ALAN conference series is dedicated to examining all aspects of artificial light at night. The broad scope of the conference includes how light is produced (e.g. technologies, industry, and lighting design), where it is present (e.g. remote sensing); what effects it has on humans and the environment (e.g. ecology); how it is perceived by the public (e.g. perceptions of safety and security), and how the benefits and detriments of lighting may be balanced by regulation.
The ALAN Conference will take place in Westport Mayo on October 28 – 30, 2025 and is being presented by Dark Sky Ireland and Mayo Dark Sky Park. The conference offers a platform for interdisciplinary networking and exchange on the topics Biology & Ecology, Governance & Regulations, Health, Measurements & Modelling, Social Sciences & Humanities, Technology & Design.
It welcomes researchers, lighting professionals, policy makers, light pollution activists, and those who are interested in the effects of artificial light at night. The conference aims to present new findings, exchange experiences and ideas, network, and discuss hoe artificial light can be used with less negative impacts. Full details of themes and topics are available at artificiallightatnight.org.
Culture Night is an all-island public event which takes place each year on the second last Friday of September, Culture Night celebrates culture, creativity and the arts and seeks to actively promote the belief that this rich and varied culture is alive, treasured and nurtured in people’s lives, today and every day.
This year it takes place on Friday September 20th and among the events making up this year’s programme are a range of multicultural events, traditional music and craft events, film screenings, art workshops, DJ sets and more. Living up to its theme of One Night For All, Culture Night has something for everyone. Full National Culture Night programme details are available at www.culturenight.ie.
Culture Night is strategically funded by Mayo County Council and the Arts Council of Ireland and is supported by Creative Ireland and participating groups & venues in Mayo. Media Sponsor is Midwest Radio.
