On 14 Mar 2004 17:51:45 GMT, (EFLASPO) wrote:

I received this news item from the Astronomical League, and wanted to pass it
along.

Ed Flaspoehler, President
American Association of Amateur Astronomers
http://www.astromax.com

Memorandum for Council and Committees
Astronomical League
cc: IDA Board, Sections, and Affiliates

The CNN news link below describes a new form of space advertising. The
Astronomical League strongly opposes this project as a threat to the science of
astronomy. This was also discussed yesterday at the 2004 annual meeting of the
International Dark-Sky Association.
http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/space/0....ap/index.html

While I am sure that all of us oppose such advertising, it is worth noting that
it can be a large step from patenting something to making it practical. This
isn't the first time that a Russian has suggested using space for advertising. I
doubt this attempt will be any more successful. The costs are enormous, and I
expect this usage might interfere with other interests, commercial and military,
which would apply a bit of back-room pressure to keep it from happening
(assuming the economics could ever be made to work).

In the meantime, a much more real concern is light pollution right here on the
ground.

_________________________________________________

Chris L Peterson
Cloudbait Observatory
http://www.cloudbait.com