The World At Night

The World At Night (TWAN) is a global project to create a collection of photographs and time-lapse videos of the world’s most beautiful and historic sites against a nightime backdrop of stars, planets and celestial events. These images show now the eternally peaceful sky looks the same above all the symbols of different nations and regions,.attesting to the truly unified nature of Earth as a planet rather than an amalgam of human-designated territories. Those involved in global programs learn to see humanity as a family living together on a single planet amidst the vast ocean of our Universe. This global perspective motivates us to work for a better, more peaceful planet for all the world’s inhabitants. Astronomers Without Borders was created to work toward this goal. TWAN is an innovative new approach to expanding this global perspective.

TWAN photographs are being taken by the best night sky photographers around the world. The resulting collection will be presented in an international traveling exhibition and in a virtual exhibition on the TWAN web site. A book and a DVD of the images will also be published. Time-lapse digital photographs of the night sky that are being created at particular locations will be used in a high-quality documentary film of celestial motion over the planet's most important sites. TWAN is bringing together photographers, astronomers and organizations worldwide to create a new international team. That team will fulfill TWAN's primary goal of bringing to the public a new way of seeing the wonders of our planet by portraying Earth’s people as one family and our world as a living planet we must care for.

Wars are fought over boundaries that have been created in the name of politics, religion, race or beliefs. But the view from space reveals the true nature of our cosmic home – a border-less planet divided only into land and sea. While few will experience that view first-hand, the same is also true in reverse; the night sky above us – a view that is accessible to everyone on the planet – also has no visible borders. This common view is a bridge that connects us, creating understanding and friendship. When borders vanish, political and cultural differences become irrelevant. The beauty of brilliant Venus might be seen in Texas just hours after it is seen by sky gazers in Tehran. The famous stars of the Big Dipper might be viewed over the Vatican while Buddhists in China share the same celestial view over their temples. The magnificent Milky Way might be viewed over the Grand Canyon while people in Nepal are awed by the same celestial view over the Himalaya. We all live under the same eternally peaceful sky. And the Earth we inhabit under it belongs to us all.

Material released by TWAN will include photographs, descriptions of the subject sites, the site’s historical, cultural or environmental significance, how TWAN was conducted, how TWAN affected participating photographers and any further relevant issues of global importance such as peace, ecology and light pollution.

Visit The World at Night website.