Starry, starry night

It never occurred to me until recently, that as a child I could see the stars and find my favorite constellation, Orion, on most nights. But now I realize it’s rare to see a starry night. And the cause, it seems, is light pollution. According to the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA), in the United States, 99 percent of the public can’t experience a natural night and 80 percent of the world’s population lives under “sky glow,” illumination by artificial light.

I’m not alone. “In some places, it’s just dawning on people that if they go outside and look at the night sky, the stars are missing,” says John Barentine, previously the director of public policy at IDA and now owns his own consulting business. “They’re discovering the phenomenon of light pollution, maybe for the first time.”

The Dark and Quiet Skies for Science and Society Working Group, led by the International Astronomical Union, says that, “in order to safeguard the right of any citizen to enjoy the vision of the starred sky, we recommend that national and local governments establish a suitable number of ‘Dark Sky Oases’ and protect them from excessive artificial light at night.”

Flagstaff, Arizona, was the world’s first Dark Sky community, established in 2001. It reduced street lighting by 20 percent using dimmable LED lights. IDA identifies Dark Sky resources in five groups: Sanctuaries, Reserves, Parks, Communities, and Urban Places. It seems natural to think of Death Valley or the Grand Canyon as a place where there is less artificial light and therefore best for stargazing, but more than 20 communities in the United States are Dark Sky designates. Senior Photographer David Tulis and I discovered our first Dark Sky community when flying into Borrego Springs, California, for a story on flying gliders (“Sailplane Magic,” August 2018 AOPA Pilot). We stayed overnight at La Casa Del Zorro and marveled at the night sky and were curious to learn there is only one traffic light in the whole community. The Anza-Borrego Desert in southern California is the second largest state park in the United States and Borrego Springs was the second IDA Dark Sky Community, designated in 2009.

The quest to visit Dark Sky communities is called “astrotourism” and it is on the rise according to CNN.com, powered in part by the 2024 eclipse on April 8. The sense of wonder gazing at the night sky—and seeing the Milky Way in real time, not just photos—is said to be good for your health and well-being.

In addition, at Dark Sky communities such as Beaver Island, Michigan, there’s more to the night sky than stars; meteor showers, the Northern Lights, comets, and Zodiacal light (also known as false dawn or false dusk) are highlights to a visit to a Dark Sky community.

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