Astronomer Fred Watson addressed the Planning Assessment Commission in Dunedoo meeting as a representative of the Anglo-Australian Observatory at Siding Spring near Coonabarabran.
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Mr Watson and the observatory have been following the development of the Cobbora Coal Project, hoping to work closely with the mine to minimise the effects of light pollution.
He showed two panoramas taken from the observatory in 1986 and 2014, showing the growing impact of light pollution from the growing centres of Dubbo, Armidale and even Sydney.
“Coonabarabran is a success story”
The development of coal mining at Boggabri in particular meant the town had gone from barely perceptible in 1986 to a significant blot on the night sky in 2014.
However, Mr Watson said the impact of Coonabarabran had not grown noticeably over the last 18 years, as the Warrumbungle Shire Council had worked with the observatory to minimise light pollution.
“Coonabarabran is a success story,” he said.
He said mines in the Hunter Valley and Boggabri had been developed at a time when light pollution was not considered a serious issue, and caused significant disruption to the night sky.
“The worst possible combination is dust being raised and then being illuminated by badly designed lighting,” he said.
Mr Watson said modern light installations could be designed to illuminate only the surfaces for which they were intended, rather than leaking light into the sky.
He hoped that Cobbora would work closely with the observatory.
