The International Astronomical Union (IAU) held a press briefing on Thursday, February 3 to announce the establishment of the new IAU Centre for the Protection of the Dark and Quiet Sky from Satellite Constellation Interference. The Centre will be international, interdisciplinary, and work across multiple jurisdictions to help mitigate the impact of satellite constellations on astronomy at optical through radio wavelengths. The scope should include technical as well as regulatory work.

The Centre will be co-hosted by National Science Foundation’s (NSF’s) National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory (NOIRLab) and the Square Kilometre Array Observatory (SKAO), alongside a wide collaboration with several institutions and individuals. CRAF is one of the bodies that will collaborate with the Centre in the area of radio astronomy protection.