* Astronomy

New Zealand has been accepted as one of five world heritage night sky reserve sites for the UNESCO world heritage meeting in Rio de Janeiro next year.
The Tekapo-Aoraki/Mt Cook night sky bid presented by former Cabinet minister Margaret Austin was unanimously supported by the UNESCO meeting in Santa Cruz, the Canaries, yesterday.

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New Zealand is pushing forward with its bid to make Tekapo the world's first night sky reserve.
Former cabinet minister Margaret Austin, who is chairwoman of New Zealand's Starlight Reserve committee, has been in Paris attending the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) meeting.

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Lake Tekapo's Mount John Observatory is being proposed as the centre of a heritage park in the sky.
 New Zealand is racing to achieve the lofty ambition of securing the world's first United Nations heritage park in the sky.
The University of Canterbury and other members of the South Island scientific community have begun work promoting the Mount John University Observatory and the broader Tekapo region as a unique United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) world heritage park in the night sky.
The Canary Islands, the United States and Chile are also believed to be in the running for the prize.
Supporters of the plan say, if successful, it will put New Zealand on the map as a place for astronomers to conduct research. It will also open up a lucrative astro-tourism industry, with stargazers from around the world enjoying the clear skies and low light pollution of the Mackenzie Basin.

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