Dark and Quiet Skies Act of 2024

The Dark and Quiet Skies Act of 2024 establishes a Center of Excellence to develop voluntary best practices for reducing interference with federally funded astronomical research. The Center will work with satellite operators, observatories, and federal agencies to address optical and radio interference from satellites, focusing on consistent measurement methods and mitigation techniques. It requires collaboration with the private sector and scientific community to research and test solutions, such as minimizing satellite brightness affecting telescopes. The bill authorizes $20 million over five years for this Center, which must report annually to Congress on its progress in protecting scientific observations of the sky.