The World at Night

Babak Tafreshi is an award winning photographer working with National Geographic, a master of night-time photography and nightscape videos. He uses the context of night sky to bridge Earth and sky, art and science, cultures and time. He is also a science journalist and in 2007 founded The World at Night (TWAN) program; an elite group of about 40 photographers in 25 countries who present images to reconnect people with the importance and beauty of the night sky and natural nights.   Born in 1978 in Tehran he is based in Boston, United States, but could be anywhere on the planet, chasing stories from the Sahara to the Himalayas or Antarctica. He is also a contributor to Sky&Telescope magazine, the European Southern Observatory (ESO), and a board member of Astronomers Without Borders, an international organization to bridge between cultures and connect people around the world through their common interest to astronomy. He received the 2009 Lennart Nilsson Award, the world’s most recognized award for scientific photography, for his global contribution to night sky photography.

Foreword
Introduction

Chapter 01 One People, One Sky
Our planet is embraced by one sky of endless beauties, an eternal roof above symbols of all nations and religions, attesting to the unified nature of Earth and mankind

Chapter 02 World Heritages
UNESCO World Heritages, some of the most known landmarks in a new light under stars with stories of the visit, the atmosphere at night being alone next to these iconic sites, and feeling how cultures and civilization have been connected through the night sky.
 
Chapter 03 Hidden Universe 
The wonders of the night sky with unaided eyes, constellations, sky motions, twilight and atmospheric phenomenon, Aurora, etc. 
 
Chapter 04 Events That Shook the World
Celestial events that bring the passion of astronomy to public and media. From Great Comets to spectacular eclipses. Events we photograph now have occurred before, often having great political and cultural impacts in the history. Many stories through time and across borders. Events that might have changed the world in ancient times still draw the world's attention to the sky today despite our hectic lives. We're disconnected with the sky in our daily lives now but these events bring us back to it.

Chapter 05 Fragile Beauty of Darkness
Fear of darkness is fear of the unknown.  But when the sky becomes a familiar place we find it is full of hidden treasures. The importance of preserving the beauty of the night sky as part of our natural environment.  Evidence shows natural night darkness is critical to many species and important to our psychological and physiological well-being. 
 
Chapter 06 Dark Sky Refuges
Most interesting astronomy visiting sites around the globe, from dark sky places, to starparties, ancient astronomical monuments, and moderniconic observatories where astronomers explore the cosmos.

Photographers
How to Take Nightscape Photographs
Picture Credits
Acknowledgements