Alpine Astrovillage (AAV) is a center for

astrophotography Astrophotography, also known as astronomical imaging, is the photography or imaging of astronomical objects, celestial events, or areas of the night sky. The first photograph of an astronomical object (the Moon) was taken in 1839, but it was no ...

and

stargazing Amateur astronomy is a hobby where participants enjoy observing or imaging celestial objects in the sky using the unaided eye, binoculars, or telescopes. Even though scientific research may not be their primary goal, some amateur astronomers ...

in the eastern

Swiss Alps The Alps, Alpine region of Switzerland, conventionally referred to as the Swiss Alps, represents a major natural feature of the country and is, along with the Swiss Plateau and the Swiss portion of the Jura Mountains, one of its three main Physica ...

, high above the valley floor of the

Val Müstair Val Müstair () is a municipality in the Engiadina Bassa/Val Müstair Region in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. It was formed on 1 January 2009 through the merger of Tschierv, Fuldera, Lü, Valchava, Santa Maria Val Müstair and Müsta ...

in the

canton Graubünden Canton may refer to: Administrative divisions * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and entertainment * Canton (band), an I ...

. It was founded by Drs. Vaclav & Jitka Ourednik during the International Year of Astronomy 2009. The complete name is Alpine Astrovillage Lü-Stailas (for “star light” in the

Romansh language Romansh ( ; sometimes also spelled Romansch and Rumantsch) is a Gallo-Romance languages, Gallo-Romance and/or Rhaeto-Romance languages, Rhaeto-Romance language spoken predominantly in the Switzerland, Swiss Cantons of Switzerland, canton of the ...

of the Canton). With its geographic location at an altitude above and an exquisite sky quality with minimal

light pollution Light pollution is the presence of any unwanted, inappropriate, or excessive artificial Visible spectrum, lighting. In a descriptive sense, the term ''light pollution'' refers to the effects of any poorly implemented lighting sources, during the ...

, AAV is a unique place in

Central Europe Central Europe is a geographical region of Europe between Eastern Europe, Eastern, Southern Europe, Southern, Western Europe, Western and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Central Europe is known for its cultural diversity; however, countries in ...

for all astronomical purposes. The program includes multi-day courses in astrophotography and sky observation. In collaboration with schools, AAV offers students the possibility to accomplish, under competent guidance, the practical parts of their

matura or its translated terms (''mature'', ''matur'', , , , , ', ) is a Latin name for the secondary school exit exam or "maturity diploma" in various European countries, including Albania, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech ...

(or

Bachelor A bachelor is a man who is not and never has been married.Bachelors are, in Pitt & al.'s phrasing, "men who live independently, outside of their parents' home and other institutional settings, who are neither married nor cohabitating". (). Etymo ...

) or Masters projects. AAV also organizes and supervises astrophotography trips to the darkest places on Earth, including visits to the most famous and biggest professional observatories. Meanwhile, the Center enjoys, thanks to its educative activities, great national and international popularity and respect. For years, it has been known as an '' Erlebnisperle des Kantons Graubünden'' (Destination Pearl of the canton Graubünden). With its activity, the Center contributes in an important way to the preservation of the last dark sky oases on the planet for the coming generations.

References

# (English)
Unique Telescope Facility Opens In Swiss Biosphere
Report about AAV in the Online-Journal ''Universe Today'' # (German)
Starparade: Vom Hirn zum Gestirn
Report by Marcel Huwyler about the AAV center and Drs. Jitka and Vaclav Ourednik, ''

Schweizer Illustrierte ''Schweizer Illustrierte'' is a weekly illustrated news magazine owned by Swiss media company Ringier. History and profile ''Schweizer Illustrierte'' was established in 1911 as ''Schweizer Illustrierte Zeitung (SIZ)'', and adopted its current n ...

'' # (German)
Was Lü mit den Sternen zu tun hat …
A feature about the astrofotografie at the AAV Center, '' Fotointern.ch'' # (German)
Sternenstaub und Schneekristalle
Report in the ''

Neue Zürcher Zeitung The (''NZZ''; "New Newspaper of Zurich") is German language daily newspaper, published by NZZ Mediengruppe in Zurich. The paper was founded in 1780. It has a reputation as a high-quality newspaper, as the German Swiss newspaper of record ...

'' # (German)
Das Alpine Astrovillage – ein Astrofotografie-Zentrum in den Schweizer Alpen
A movie feature about the AAV center in the German TV, ''

Bayerischer Rundfunk (; "Bavarian Broadcasting"), shortened to BR (), is a public broadcasting, public-service radio and television broadcaster, based in Munich, capital city of the Bavaria, Free State of Bavaria in Germany. BR is a member organization of the ARD (b ...

'' # (German)
So gut wie in Lü sieht man den nächtlichen Himmel nirgends – das Bergdorf im Münstertal weist weitere Besonderheiten auf Lü
Report about the AAV Center, ''Neuen Zürcher Zeitung'' # (German)
Ausflugstipp Ganz grosses Himmelskino"
Report about the AAV Center, ''

Beobachter ''Beobachter'' (, ''Observer'') is a German-language Swiss medium with a focus on law and justice. History and profile The magazine was founded in 1926 by Max Ras as ''Der Schweizerische Beobachter'' and first distributed in 1927 as a free ne ...

'' # (German)
Lü Stailas steht vor Wendepunkt"
Report about the AAV Center, '' Südostschveiz'' # (German)
Freie Sicht aufs Sternmeer
Report about the AAV Center and its founders Jitka and Vaclav Ourednik '' Schweizer Familie'' # (German
"Klare Sicht auf die Milchstrasse"
Chapter about the AAV Center in the book ''111 Orte in Graubünden, die man gesehen haben muss'' # (German)
Dr. Vaclav Ourednik
''on line'' artickle about the AAV center and Dr. V. Ourednik
Fotosymposiums ''Pix17''

External links

Alpine Astrovillage Lü-Stailas observatory home page
*(English) (French) (Italian) Homepage of th
UNESCO Biosphären Reservat "Val Müstair – Schweizer
*(German) (English) (French) (Czech
''Caelus Edition'' associated with the AAV Center. It publishes non-fiction books, audioplays and other publications about the cosmos and astrophotography
* (German) (English) (French) (Italien
''Tourism Engadin – Scuol – Samnaun – Val Müstair''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alpine Astrovillage Lu-Stailas Astronomical observatories in Switzerland Val Müstair Astrophotography UNESCO Public observatories Education in Switzerland

See also

References

External links