Updated on Feb 11, 2009 – SCMP
On Saturday night, I went with my family to the Avenue of Stars in Tsim Sha Tsui, where an event was being held to mark the opening night of the International Year of Astronomy. It was organised by IYA 2009 Hong Kong League, formed by local astronomy organisations to get Hongkongers more interested in the subject.
Various telescopes were located around the pavement and we were delighted by what we could see.
So great was the magnification in one telescope that we were able to see the craters of the moon.
However, I was surprised to observe that the neon lights on skyscrapers had not been turned off even for this special event.
If Hong Kong, as a community, had agreed to switch off these neon lights, people would have been able to see more stars through the telescopes on Saturday night.
Also it would have been seen as an energy-saving measure on this special day.
It shows how little is being done to save the night sky from this light pollution.
Aishu Venkat, Mid-Levels