Babak Tafreshi, Director of The World at Night (TWAN) has been named co-recipient of the 2009 Lennart Nilsson Award, the world’s most prestigious distinction in scientific photography. The citation reads in part, "Babak A. Tafreshi's photographs reclaim a night sky that most modern people have lost. He takes us to remote places where the stars still look like they did at the dawn of mankind. His work calls to mind the beauty of the universe and human life on our planet."

Tafreshi created TWAN in 2007 and continues to be the driving force behind the project's worldwide success. TWAN has been declared a Special Project of the International Year of Astronomy 2009, helping the UN-declared year to reach a broad audience.

The award will be presented to Tafreshi in a ceremony in Stockholm on 28 October, with Lennart Nilsson in attendance.

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