Technical Document: Dark & Quiet Skies executive summary for UN COPUOS

As requested by COPUOS, the UN Office of Outer Space Affairs, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) and Spain are organising a Conference on “Dark and Quiet Skies for Science and Society”, postponed to October 2021 as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic (See A/72/20). An online Workshop was held from 5 to 9 October 2020 to discuss initial findings and draft recommendations. The present Conference Room Paper (CRP) explains the issues astronomy faces and sets out those recommendations. The Scientific and Technical Sub-Committee is invited to comment on the recommendations proposed in this CRP. The comments will be reviewed after the Sub-Committee’s meeting in April 2021. The CRP will then be revised and presented to the COPUOS Meeting in August 2021.