The Pitcairn Islands is the only island group in the world to be designated an International Dark Sky Sanctuary.
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The Pitcairn Islands have exceptionally stunning dark skies, free from all light pollution.
In late 2018 the government of Pitcairn Islands made an application to the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA) for the four islands to be granted the status of an International Dark Sky Sanctuary (IDSS).
On March 18, 2019 the IDA formally approved Mata ki te Rangi's status as a sanctuary.
Mata ke ti Rangi - Eyes to the Sky International Dark Sky Sanctuary encompasses all four islands with a land area of 43.25 sq km.
Pitcairn is one of the four islands in the group. The other three islands, Oeno, Henderson and Ducie, are uninhabited.
Henderson is a UNESCO World Heritage site, home to many endemic species of flowering plants, birds and insects.
All four islands are surrounded by a Marine Protected Area. At 834,000 sq km, it is the world's third largest such area.
Pitcairn Island itself is one of the world's most remote inhabited islands.
It lies in the South Pacific approximately 2,300 km east of Tahiti and 6,500 km west of northern Chile.
At latitude 25.1 degrees, it is just south of the Tropic of Capricorn. The climate and vegetation are sub-tropical.
While archaeologists believe that Polynesians were living on Pitcairn as late as the 15th century, the islands were uninhabited when they were rediscovered by Europeans.
Pitcairn is best known as the place where the mutineers of HMS Bounty chose to settle in January 1790, together with 12 Polynesian women and six Polynesian men, mainly from Tahiti.
Today the population of Pitcairn is less than 50, although the population reached a maximum of over 230 in the 1930s.
It has been declining steadily since and the government has initiated a repopulation strategy.
Pitcairn Island has been working towards its sanctuary status since August 2017.
Small Astro-tourism ventures are currently being established as a new activity to help boost the island's visitor economy.
A start has been made to train a small group of islanders in the essentials of star-gazing and using telescopes and binoculars.
The March 2019 designation by the IDA makes the Pitcairn Islands only the eighth International Dark Sky Sanctuary on earth. Additionally, the Pitcairn Islands Group is the first British Overseas Territory to have been granted IDA Dark Sky Sanctuary status.
The Tamworth Regional Astronomy Club (TRAC), has recently donated a small telescope to the children of Pitcairn Island.
The Tamworth Regional Astronomy Club (TRAC), has recently donated a small telescope to the children of Pitcairn Island.
TRAC member Di Rogers' grandmother was born on Pitcairn, and earlier this year Ms Rogers was able to visit the island.
There are only three children at the school. The club hopes that this telescope will help to encourage a love of astronomy in the children.
