by Staff Writers Beijing (UPI) Aug 28, 2012 World astronomers
meeting in Beijing have announced a new Web portal dedicated to
protecting astronomical heritage sites around the globe. The
site, www.astronomicalheritage.net, is a collaboration between
the International Astronomical Union, currently meeting in
China, and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization, China's official Xinhua News Agency
reported. The portal will serve as a publicly accessible
database, discussion forum and document repository on
astronomical heritage sites in all parts of the world, said
Clive Ruggles, chairman of the IAU's Astronomy and World
Heritage Working Group. "Approximately 40 sites have been
included in the site," Ruggles said, "some are already on the
UNESCO's World Heritage List, not usually for their astronomical
significance, some are on national tentative lists and some are
not at all on any list. It's a mixture." The portal will not
only feature sites and monuments, but also other types of as