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Vast expanses of twinkling stars. Unspoiled view of the night sky. And no glare to cloud the Milky Way.
These are the defining features of places known as dark sky places. As of this week, 187 such sites in 21 countries – among them national parks, remote sanctuaries and nature reserves – have been decided to meet the needs. International Dark Sky AssociationThe standard for the definition of: “a country with an outstanding or outstanding quality of starry night.”
Headquartered in Tucson, Arizona, the group is issuing certificates as part of its mission to return the night sky to its natural state. According to Ashley Wilson, the association’s director of conservation, 30 new dark sky locations have been approved so far in 2021, with a few more planned before the end of the year.
To help reduce light pollution — disturbing artificial light That obscures views of stars and planets — the group proposes simple changes, such as turning the outside lights downward to limit disturbance to nocturnal wildlife.
“Every dark sky location serves as an important tool for communicating to a wider audience, especially people living in cities, about dark skies and the importance of quality outdoor lighting,” Ms Wilson said in an email.
All protected public lands and private lands with night access are eligible for certification.
Ms Wilson said the sites should show that “the Milky Way is easily visible to the naked eye” and that “no nearby artificial light source provides any appreciable glare”.
Here are five sites that have recently received definitions of dark skies.
Kentucky
Mammoth Cave National Park
About 53,000 acres, this national park in southern Kentucky is known for its cave maze and lush forests. Last week, it became an official dark sky park.
“We hope this designation will encourage the public to appreciate not only the vastness of Mammoth Cave’s miles-deep underground passages, but also the beauty of the night sky above the park,” said park superintendent Barclay C. Trimble. inside Declaration.
The certification included evaluating more than 700 outdoor luminaires and retrofitting the luminaires to make them dark-sky friendly. The first National Park Service-run park to receive this title, the park also had to demonstrate its commitment to promoting the benefits of dark skies to the public.
West Virginia
Watoga State Park
Watoga State Park in October in West Virginia got dark sky status along with the nearby Calvin Price State Forest and Droop Mountain Battlefield State Park.
The three sites, which collectively encompass 19,800 acres of public land in southern West Virginia, were the first places in the state to receive dark sky designations.
In 2018, the Watoga State Park Foundation began seeking the certification. Two board members received a grant to replace the lighting fixtures in the park and worked with volunteer astronomers for a year to measure the quality of the park’s night sky.
John Goodwin, president of the foundation, said in a statement: Declaration “Many of our sensitive animal species will live and thrive in the familiar darkness, free from artificial light pollution, just as their ancestors did.”
In August, Black Gap Wildlife Management Area The dark sky shelter was chosen in Texas.
In the nomenclature of the association, a dark sky temple “typically located in a very remote location where there are few nearby threats (if any) to the quality of the dark night sky.” They are farther away and often darker than dark sky parks or reserves.
Covering nearly 103,000 acres with little development, Black Gap is in the rugged Trans-Pecos region of West Texas.
Black Gap is the second state park business to receive sanctuary status. (NS Devils River State Natural Area Certified in 2019.) Additionally, there are four dark sky parks in Texas.
Maine
AMC Maine Forest
Inside May, The Appalachian Mountain Club’s Maine Woods property became the first dark sky park in New England.
Offering clear views of pitch-black skies, experts say the area is one of the darkest places on the East Coast with significant light pollution.
The dark sky park sits on the edge of the North Maine Woods, a 5,400 square miles of largely uninhabited woodland that stretches from Monson, Maine to Canada.
“We hope this designation will draw more attention to the value and regional scarcity of this natural resource,” said Ruskin Hartley, executive director of the International Dark Sky Association, at the time of the appointment.
arizona
Chiricahua National Monument
The nearly century-old national monument in southeastern Arizona was named dark sky park in April.
The association said the monument “preserves some of the darkest night skies left in the American southwest.”
Known for its looming rock peaks or “steep boulders,” the park has been described as: a sky island Because of the isolated mountain range above the surrounding grassland sea.
The park’s “geo-isolation” from major metropolitan areas provides the dark sky association “great natural protection from light pollution and sky glare.” said in Aprildescribes the park’s night sky quality as “almost pristine at zenith.”
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