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The City of Sisters and DarkSky International have announced that Sisters has become certified as an International Dark Sky Community, making it the newest addition to the International Dark Sky Places Program. 

Announcement from DarkSky International

Sisters, located in the central part of Oregon, is a picturesque western town with a population of 3,475, surrounded by forest and the Cascade Mountains. The city is flanked by the Deschutes National Forest on the west and the arid high desert on the east.  With endless hiking, alpine lakes, and two nearby ski areas, recreational opportunities abound, all within a three-hour drive of Portland Oregon and the Pacific Ocean.

Community members have demonstrated their commitment to dark sky preservation through a range of educational and outreach initiatives, including the formation of the City and High School astronomy clubs more than a decade ago. As part of the certification process, the city enhanced its outdoor lighting ordinance in 2024, ensuring that it meets the dark skies standards established by DarkSky International. The City of Sisters outdoor lighting ordinance can be a model for other communities in Oregon.

DarkSky Oregon supported this certification by analyzing  the night sky measurement data captured over four years by volunteers from the City of Sisters.

​The City of Sisters is the second International Dark Sky Community to be certified in Oregon, and the seventh International Dark Sky Place in Oregon to earn this pretentious honor, joining:
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• Cottonwood Canyon State Park International Dark Sky Park,
• City of Antelope International Dark Sky Community,
• Oregon Caves National Monument International Dark Sky Park,
• Oregon Outback International Dark Sky Sanctuary,
• Prineville Reservoir State Park International Dark Sky Park, and
• Sunriver International Development of Distinction.​

DarkSky International retains a global committee of experts who rigorously review dark sky place applications from around the world. For a deep dive, here is Sister’s successful application for certification as an International Dark Sky Community.
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By Drew Reagan
Published December 20, 2024 by  DarkSky International & DarkSky Oregon

Wasco, Oregon

Cottonwood Canyon State Park in Oregon has been officially certified as an International Dark Sky Park by DarkSky International. This recognition makes it Oregon’s second state park to receive the certification and the state's sixth International Dark Sky Place. Other certified locations in Oregon include Prineville Reservoir State Park, Oregon Caves National Monument, Oregon Outback Dark Sky Sanctuary (Lake County), the town of Antelope Dark Sky Community, and the Sunriver International Dark Sky  Development of Distinction.

“The Dark Sky Committee was pleased to approve Cottonwood Canyon State Park, joining the family of dark places in Oregon. Their novel approach to education using interpretation panels and hands-on activities should prove an effective outreach method. Combined with good examples of good lighting – including lighting for the resident chickens – the Cottonwood Canyon State Park is a valuable resource for visitors and wildlife alike,” remarked Dan Oakley, chair of the International Dark Sky Places committee.

The effort, which started in 2020, spanned four years and included multiple park rangers and managers, with ongoing support from DarkSky Oregon. With the persistent work of David Spangler, Evan Siedl, Stan Petersen, Asa Miller, Scott Green, and our enthusiastic and dedicated partners, including Michael McKeag of DarkSky Oregon, professional photographers Dawn and Brent Davis, and Rose City Astronomers volunteers, the longtime goal of becoming an International Dark Sky Park is now a reality.

Cottonwood Canyon State Park comprises over 16,000 acres of public land along the John Day River. The Park was purchased from the non-profit group Western Rivers Conservancy in 2011 to protect natural and cultural resources. Cottonwood is open year-round and offers 21 reservable campsites, 14 first-come tent-only sites, and four cabins. In addition to camping, Cottonwood also provides miles of hiking trails, hunting, fishing, rafting, and many other recreational opportunities along the beautiful John Day River. The Park is also one of Oregon’s naturally dark parks, remote and nestled among deep canyon walls, making it an ideal location to stargaze.
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Cottonwood Canyon had many outdoor lights on buildings, so the journey to become a Dark Sky Park was no small task. Every light was inventoried, and non-compliant bulbs or fixtures were either removed or replaced with alternatives meeting DarkSky standards.  Interpretive signs were installed to educate visitors on protecting our dark skies while camping here. A sky quality meter, installed in December 2020, has been measuring and recording night sky brightness nightly since. Supplemental handheld meter measurements are made at additional locations periodically.  Public outreach star parties are held each new moon weekend in the summer months, including a ranger presentation on light pollution and night sky protection. Rose City Astronomers volunteers provide campers with telescope views of the wonders of the night sky. 

​We are committed to continually improving our Dark Sky interpretive programs and facilities. We will continue monitoring night sky quality and taking measures necessary to ensure this amazing resource is preserved for future generations to enjoy.

“As the former Manager and Ranger at Cottonwood Canyon State Park, I have always had the goal of seeing certification as an International Dark Sky Park. Cottonwood, with its unique location, is the perfect Oregon State Park to educate on the importance of dark skies and astronomy,” – David Spangler.

“I can speak for the rest of the staff that we are both ecstatic and grateful to have earned the International Dark Sky Park certification and will continue the work to protect our dark skies,” – Park Ranger Stanley Petersen.

“It has been a pleasure to work with the management and rangers at Cottonwood Canyon over the years. Cottonwood Canyon State Park is a hidden treasure waiting to be discovered,” Michael McKeag, DarkSky Oregon.
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“I’m very proud that Cottonwood Canyon is now the second Oregon State Park to receive the International Dark Sky Park Certification.  Cottonwood Canyon is a special place, but the true beauty of the Park is the magical display of the night sky,” – Park Manager Scott Green.

DarkSky Oregon is pleased to have played a significant role in this achievement. DarkSky International retains a global committee of experts who rigorously review dark sky place applications from around the world. For a deep dive, here is Cottonwood Canyon’s successful application for certification as an International Dark Sky Park.

The tiny town of Antelope is Oregon’s first Dark Sky Community
Updated: Dec. 08, 2024, 12:45 p.m. Originally Published: Dec. 06, 2024

​By  Samantha Swindler | The Oregonian/OregonLive

The tiny town of Antelope – population 37 – has become the first city in Oregon to receive a “Dark Sky Community” certification from DarkSky International.

Located in rural Wasco County in the north central part of the state, the town’s unofficial motto is, “Where you can see the Milky Way from Main Street.”

Antelope is the fifth location – but first city – in Oregon to receive a DarkSky International certification. The unincorporated community of Sunriver was the first, earning a “Development of Distinction” designation in 2020.

Prineville Reservoir was named a Dark Sky Park in 2021, and the Oregon Caves National Monument became a Dark Sky Park last month. Earlier this year, the Oregon Outback International Dark Sky Sanctuary was officially approved, spanning 2.5 million rural acres across southern Oregon.

The designations are given by DarkSky International, an organization dedicated to protecting the nighttime environment and preserving dark skies through environmentally responsible outdoor lighting.
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Antelope was incorporated in 1901, but Oregonians might know it best for the brief period in 1984-85 when members of the Rajneesh Movement moved to town and officially changed its name to Rajneesh.

By the end of 1985 – amid a failed assassination attempt and a mass poisoning attack in The Dalles – the religious movement fell apart, the Rajneesh followers left, and the town was renamed Antelope. The 2018 Netflix series “Wild Wild Country” brought the episode to an even wider audience.

“I really wanted to see Antelope be known for something better than that long past incident,” said Michael McKeag, a DarkSky Oregon co-founder who worked with the city on the designation. He attended an Antelope City Council meeting in August 2023 to talk about the process of becoming a Dark Sky city.

​“Knowing how small Antelope is, I was surprised at how full the room was,” he said. “After I finished my presentation, I figured, the response would be, ‘Well, that’s interesting. We’ll think about it.’ Instead, the response was, ‘How fast can we make it happen?’”

To get the certification, the city of Antelope adopted a new outdoor lighting ordinance, worked with Wasco Rural Electric to remove nonessential streetlights from town, and replaced the remaining streetlights with DarkSky approved fixtures that limit the amount of light pollution. Exposure to artificial nighttime lighting can disrupt wildlife and, studies show, negatively impact human health.

Over 16 months, the town recorded data on nighttime light levels and held outreach events to give residents free DarkSky-friendly outdoor light bulbs. The Rose City Astronomers club donated three telescopes to the community for “star parties” to get locals interested in the beauty of the night sky.
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Becoming a Dark Sky Community is a long-term commitment, McKeag said, and requires the city to file annual reports on their continuing use of appropriate lighting practices and public outreach.
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“You don’t just hang the plaque on the wall and call it done,” he said. “Each community or Dark Sky Place is taking on an ongoing obligation.”

 
Travel Oregon has encouraged rural communities like Antelope to go for the certification as a way to capture “astro-tourism.” McKeag is working with other cities, state parks and organizations interested in the DarkSky program.

He said Sisters is on track to become the next Oregon city to receive a certification.

“It’s our window into the rest of the universe we live in, and we’ve obscured that window through our use of outdoor lighting,” McKeag said. “A great majority of people on the planet can’t see the Milky Way, and maybe can only see the brightest stars from where they live. If they’re going to have an experience of a dark sky with the Milky Way and stars and planets plainly visible, they have to leave home and go someplace that still has dark skies, and those will be rural communities.”

Written by Elizabeth Pratt on September 6, 2024 Medical News Today

Excessive exposure to light pollution at night may raise the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.

• Researchers found that in people 65 and younger light pollution had a stronger correlation to Alzheimer’s disease prevalence than any other risk factor studied.
• Experts say more research is needed to fully determine if light pollution is a risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease.
• Excessive light pollution at night could increase the risk of Alzheimer’s disease, particularly for people under 65.

Research published in Frontiers in Neuroscience found exposure to light pollution at night time could be an important modifiable risk factor to investigate in Alzheimer’s disease.

“We show that in the U.S. there is a positive association between [Alzheimer’s] prevalence and exposure to light at night, particularly in those under the age of 65,” Robin Voigt-Zuwala, Ph.D., first author of the study and an associate professor at Rush University Medical Center

“Nightly light pollution – a modifiable environmental factor – may be an important risk factor for [Alzheimer’s],” he said.

Higher risk of Alzheimer’s with brighter nights

In undertaking their research, the study authors used data from satellites to determine the average night-time light intensity in the U.S. between the years 2012–2018.

They ranked the lower 48 U.S. states according to their average nighttime light intensity. The states were then split into five groups, from the darkest states at night with the lowest average light intensity to the brightest states at night with the highest average light intensity.

The researchers also gathered Medicare data to determine the prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease in those states.
They found statistical differences between the states that were the darkest at night and the brightest at night. Higher intensity of light pollution at night was positively associated with the prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease.
That effect held for people under and over the age of 65, for both men and women and for all races studied except for Asian Pacific Islanders.

They found that for people who were ages 65 and older, the prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease had a stronger correlation with nighttime light pollution than other potential disease risk factors like chronic kidney disease, alcohol abuse, depression, and obesity.

But for this group, there were some risk factors that had a stronger correlation with Alzheimer’s disease than light pollution. These included high blood pressure, diabetes, and stroke.

In people aged under 65, the study authors found that a higher intensity of light pollution at night was associated with a greater prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease than any other risk factor studied.
The study authors note their research has some limitations. The Medicare data was limited, the study examined prevalence of Alzheimer’s but not incidence and no indoor light data was available.

“Indoor light exposure (e.g., televisions, computers, phones) is critically important and should be evaluated in future studies,” the study authors write. “The totality of outdoor and indoor nighttime light exposure is important to consider to fully understand the impact of nighttime light on [Alzheimer’s].”

​Sleep an important factor in Alzheimer’s risk

Nikki-Anne Wilson, Ph.D., a University of New South Wales Postdoctoral Research Fellow and Conjoint Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA), who was not involved in the study, said that while it remains to be seen if nighttime light exposure is truly a risk factor for Alzheimer’s, sleep may be an important piece of the puzzle.
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“Research investigating dementia, and factors which contribute to its development, is continuing to evolve as we address emerging issues in our environment. It is too early to say whether light pollution may contribute to dementia risk. However, we do know that the development of good sleep habits is associated with broader health benefits,” she told Medical News Today.

​​The researchers note there are numerous potential mechanisms through which nighttime light pollution may impact Alzheimer’s disease.

One of them is the role of sleep disruption. Wilson says the impact this can have on the brain’s processes is an important factor to consider.

“We know that sleep plays an important role in clearing the protein associated with Alzheimer’s disease, known as amyloid-beta, from the brain. If sleep is disrupted, by things such as light or an untreated sleep disorder such as sleep apnoea, the ability for our brain to clear this protein is reduced. Further, poor sleep quality may have a broader impact on other risk factors, such as depression, level of physical activity, and high blood pressure,” she said.

More risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease

In the United States, in 2024, roughly 6.9 million Americans ages 65 and older live with Alzheimer’s. Of those, 73% are 75 years of age or older.

In most people, the exact cause of Alzheimer’s disease is not fully understood. But scientists believe it is likely a complex combination of genetic, health, and lifestyle factors, together with age-related changes taking place in the brain.

Some risk factors, like age and family history, can’t be changed. However, some risk factors believed to be associated with Alzheimer’s disease may be modifiable.

These include smoking, misuse of alcohol, physical inactivity, poor sleep, unhealthy diet, social isolation, and a lack of mental stimulation.

Clifford Segil, DO a neurologist at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, California, who was also not involved in the study, said that more research is needed to determine if nighttime light exposure is a risk factor for Alzheimer’s.
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“It is challenging as a neurologist to agree that patients who stay up at night doing things with lights are going to increase their risk later in life to get Alzheimer’s dementia. Nighttime light exposure is not an accepted dementia risk factor and it will take a lot more than a single article like this to add this to the battery of risk factors we currently assess in patients being diagnosed with dementia by neurologists,” he told MNT.

​Keeping the lights on at night
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The researchers note that in some places around the world, particularly urban centers, lights never go off.

“Today, most people living in urban and suburban areas are unable to see natural celestial light due to light pollution and as much as 80% of the global population experience light pollution. Although artificial light at night is considered by most to be harmless or even beneficial (e.g., safety), light pollution has detrimental ecological, behavioral, biological, and health consequences,” they write.

They are hopeful their findings raise awareness of some of the possible risks associated with exposure to light at night.

“Awareness of the association should empower people – particularly those with risk factors for [Alzheimer’s] – to make easy lifestyle changes,” said Voigt-Zuwala in a press statement. “Easy to implement changes include using blackout curtains or sleeping with eye masks. This is useful especially for those living in areas with high light pollution.”

By Jim Drake. July 18, 2024. 

​Two Gorge residents in Oregon are trying to convince officials that light pollution is on the rise and that adopting “dark sky” policies for outdoor lighting will help bring traditional nighttime back to the Columbia River Gorge. 

Mike Hendricks of Hood River and Michael McKeag of Mosier have been organizing community outreach programs and collecting years of nighttime sky-quality data to promote the work of DarkSky Oregon, a chapter of DarkSky International, dedicated to reducing light pollution “for the health, safety and well-being of all life.”

According to Hendricks, the view of the night sky is better in Hood River than in big cities, but he’s afraid if rural communities don’t act now to reduce the ever-expanding impact of lighting at night, the beauty and majesty of the Milky Way will fade from view.

Generations will be left without an opportunity to be inspired by the stars.

Hendricks started a local advocacy group, DarkSky Gorge, to raise awareness, and is encouraged by the 85 members so far.

“I joined in this effort because I love the dark sky at night, it’s really nothing more complicated than that. I’m lucky enough to have a view of the sky from our deck and when you look at it, you understand your place in the universe,” says Hendricks.

How lights impact wildlife

It turns out light pollution causes more problems than just having a negative impact on viewing the night skies.

Scientists have amassed a body of research showing that unintended consequences of Artificial Light At Night (ALAN) is creating a host of environmental problems. 

​These include interfering with bird migrations, significant decreases in insect populations, changes in nocturnal animal behavior and sleep patterns, throwing normal predation/prey relationships into imbalance, decreasing nighttime pollination processes, disrupting aquatic populations and even changing the foliage cycles for trees.
 
“My colleague, John Barantine at DarkSky Consulting (and formerly with DarkSky International), has compiled a database of more than 5,000 papers on ALAN research, and he produces a yearly summary of major findings,” says McKeag.

Humans aren’t immune to changes in the nighttime sky.

Extra exposure to light during what should be dark nighttime conditions can affect melatonin levels, important in many hormonal body functions.

And in a sort of ironic technological twist, modern LED lights, which account for energy savings, can produce a spectrum of light that has higher levels (than previous bulbs) of blue light, which is the normal color of daylight.
Studies show that exposure to blue light (420-440 nanometer wavelength) from LED bulbs can suppress melatonin production, interfering with natural sleep cycles and circadian rhythms in humans and animals.

Monitoring Gorge skies

Efforts to measure and document the nighttime sky conditions affected by light from cities, buildings, streetlights and other outdoor lighting sources are being led by groups like DarkSky International and their state chapters.

DarkSky International has an interest in returning the night sky to conditions that allow a clear view for all to see.
Today’s nighttime view is impacted by light domes that emanate from cities and can have an impact hundreds of miles away.

Stray light and light from upward facing fixtures can be reflected by clouds and interact with dust particles creating “skyglow.”

With the use of satellite data and monitoring stations on the ground, a picture of light pollution impact is being developed.

​The DarkSky Oregon Chapter has been collecting, analyzing and charting light pollution data for at least five years. 

Since 2019, DarkSky Oregon co-founder Bill Kowalik and McKeag have worked on the chapter’s Sky Quality Meter Program. An estimated 10 million data points have been collected pertaining to overall night brightness for 53 locations in Oregon.

By combining remote sensing information from satellites and data from a network of Sky Quality Meters, McKeag and colleagues were able to summarize measurements from 2012 to 2020, showing a 30% increase in “uplight” in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area.

McKeag says at least three years of data is needed to measure a statistically significant trend among Gorge communities.

“At the top of the list [for artificial light at night] is The Dalles, and second is Hood River,” says McKeag.
More data will be collected in 2024.

“DarkSky Oregon will be extending our statewide network of night sky monitoring stations to include sites at intervals the length of the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, with installations starting this year,” says McKeag.

Promoting dark skies

In past years, McKeag has worked with the city of Mosier to get a Dark Sky Community Certification, presented his Sky Quality Meter data to the Gorge Climate Action Network and spoken with staff from the Gorge Commission (in charge of overseeing policies for the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area) about sky-quality data.
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“There was interest from the Gorge Commission to look at the sky-quality data as it pertains to Key Viewing Areas, and the commission admitted that they didn’t really think about how the KVA would look at night,” says McKeag. 

McKeag visited with staff at Timberline Lodge on Mount Hood in order to get the facility to turn off the ski slope lights during a Rose City Astronomy stargazing event.

“It was a chore for them to even try and figure out how to turn them off, but they did it, and people got to experience the transition of what you could observe in the sky when the lights went out. It was educational on how different it was,” he says.

McKeag says Travel Oregon is vigorously promoting dark sky tourism in rural areas.

“One of the resources they have is dark skies, and they could even be darker if they made changes to their outdoor lighting,” he says. “Urbanites are aware of the rewards, and they’re willing to travel and spend money when they do.”

Changing lighting codes

An additional byproduct of light pollution is wasted energy.

DarkSky organizations say one-third of all outdoor lighting is useless because the light is not directed at the right place. It’s common to have too much light switched on for an intended purpose—the use of dimmers and timers could result in significant savings.

The group calculates that the planet became 9% brighter at night from 2012-19.

That’s a good reason to urge the City of Hood River to take a look at adopting Dark Sky outdoor lighting requirements, says Mike Hendricks.

​He points to the recent adoption of outdoor lighting codes by the city of Sisters, Ore., which incorporates Dark Sky lighting recommendations and has a five-year timeline for getting all public and private outdoor lighting up to DarkSky codes.

The codes allow temporary lights for holiday decorating and provide exemptions for security purposes, but eliminate upward-pointing light fixtures, searchlights and laser-light devices that extend past property boundaries.

“Right now, our codes in Hood River don’t really address outdoor lighting,” says Hendricks. “I’ve been having talks with our city planner and they have a copy of the recent outdoor lighting code [adopted in Sisters].”

“We’ve even approached the Port of Hood River on lighting for the new bridge, and from recent public meetings their aesthetics committee has incorporated some of our Dark Sky lighting language into account. It will be interesting to see their report, which is due in coming weeks.”

McKeag is an avid photographer and is involved with regional astronomy clubs that rely on dark skies for star parties and other community outreach events. 

“I’ve taken long-exposure photographs from the Dalles Mountain looking across the light pollution from The Dalles and you can see the light dome of Portland,” says McKeag. “It’s so large, you can see it from central Oregon. In fact, I was just looking at a photograph that a person had taken from the south rim of Crater Lake looking across Wizard Island. Looking to the northeast you can see a conspicuous yellow blob on the horizon.”

He believes communities can work together to make dark skies a reality for the Gorge.

“Light pollution isn’t stored in the atmosphere or water or soil, so it really is the easiest form of pollution to address. It’s really just the flick of a switch, and it’s getting people to stop and think about it,” says McKeag. “We’re making arguments against light pollution based on evidence, not just opinion, and we’re trying to provide people with the firsthand experience of a dark sky, hoping to turn them into advocates. In turn they should tell their public officials that Dark Sky policies are a good idea.”

​This story originally appeared in Columbia Insight, but has been corrected for minor errors.

Home to millions of people, and like most all such places, Los Angles has some of the worst Artificial Light At Night (ALAN) issues in the country. But thanks to caring people and enlightened political leadership, LA has begun the steps needed to educate the public and protect what's left of its night sky natural heritage.

BY ALEXA ROBLES-GIL
04.22.2024 UNDARK

​Light pollution is threatening the future of astronomy. Can a new nationwide lighting standard make a difference?

GROWING UP in Chile’s Atacama Desert, Paulina Villalobos thought the Milky Way’s presence in the pristine starry skies was a given. Her father, an amateur astronomer, would wake her when a comet crossed the night sky. But Villalobos later moved to Santiago, the capital, to study architecture. There, the stars disappeared amid a haze of city lights. Just like people who come from the coast miss the ocean, she said, “I missed the sky.”

The extraordinary darkness that sheaths the Atacama, which stretches for hundreds of miles in Chile’s north, has made it a haven for astronomers searching for planets and stars shimmering in the night sky. With its high altitude and clear skies, the region is repeatedly chosen as a site for observatories. According to some estimates, by 2030, Chile will be home to around 70 percent of the world’s astronomical infrastructure.

Yet even here, skyglow from hundreds of miles away can overwhelm the faint light emanating from astronomical objects.

Now, a new regulation aims to darken the night skies.

In October, the Chilean government announced a new National Lighting Standard that will become effective later this year. The updated standards expand restrictions on light luminosity, color, and the hours they can be turned on to protect three major concerns: astronomy, biodiversity, and human health.

According to some estimates, by 2030, Chile will be home to around 70 percent of the world’s astronomical infrastructure.

For astronomers, the stakes can feel high. While the Atacama offers a window to answer fundamental questions about the origin of life, that window is at risk of closing in the next 50 years due to increasing light pollution, said Chilean astronomer Guillermo Blanc. Worldwide, the sky is estimated to get brighter by 10 percent on average each year.

The new rule on light pollution in Chile was informed, in part, by a technical advisory committee, which included astronomers and other scientists — Villalobos, who is now an architect and lighting designer, among them. The new regulation, she said, offers “the possibility of recovering the sky.”

SINCE THE 1960s, the Atacama Desert has been an important hub for international astronomy. Today, the region, which boasts more than 300 clear nights per year, hosts some of the world’s most significant observatories, including the internationally funded Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array and the European Southern Observatory, the latter of which is currently developing the Extremely Large Telescope, set to open in 2028.

NOIRLab, a United States government-funded program, also operates two facilities in the Atacama. The National Science Foundation has invested more than $500 million to build a third facility, the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, which is expected to see first light later in 2025. Yet it too is threatened by light pollution, said Blanc, who works at the Las Campanas Observatory.

Those problems are global; worldwide, two-thirds of major professional observatories are affected by levels of light pollution that exceed the expected natural levels, according to a 2023 review. While many observations now take place from telescopes orbiting Earth, ground-based telescopes are still essential to interpret observations from those space-based telescopes. And if the sky’s natural brightness increases, it’s harder to observe faint objects, such as distant galaxies forming on the far edge of the universe or gas orbiting around black holes.

Some observations will require more time — and greater investment: “If you have to spend two nights instead of one night to observe a faint thing because the sky is now artificially brighter, that costs money,” said James Lowenthal, a professor of astronomy at Smith College who also leads the Light Pollution subcommittee for the American Astronomical Society. “We’re talking literally billions of dollars at stake — at least tens of millions of dollars.”

“The outlook today is very worrisome in 20, 30, 40 years.”

Others might become impossible without better technology: “We are directly cutting the possibility of seeing certain phenomena,” said Rodolfo Angeloni, an assistant scientist at NOIRLab’s Gemini Observatory Southern Operations Center who studies stellar astrophysics and the effects of light pollution on the Chilean sky. “If a sky reaches a certain threshold of brightness, the telescopes installed in the area are simply no longer able to do frontier research.”

He cited the Mount Wilson Observatory in California, where the Milky Way galaxy was first measured, as an example. The extraordinary growth of Los Angeles brought significant levels of light pollution. Today, observatories in California have to work with a brightness in the sky that was previously nonexistent.

Chile, however, has other plans.

CHILE’S NEW regulation on light pollution builds upon a previous rule that only protected certain key astronomical sites. The new regulation, in contrast, will apply nationwide. Its aim is not to blackout La Serena or Santiago, some of Chile’s major cities, but to use specific lighting to reduce negative effects.

In 2019, when the Ministry of the Environment began revising the regulation, Chile took a step towards addressing the problem by incorporating light as a legal pollutant. Over 83 percent of the world’s population lives under light-saturated skies, but light is not normally seen — and legislated — as pollution. Many advocates say that it should be.

​The sky “is as polluted as, for example, a river that is full of garbage. It’s as polluted as living next to a factory,” said Felipe Loaiza Arias, who works for Chile’s Ministry of the Environment and helped craft the legislation.

The distant glow from several cities is seen from NOIRLab’s Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile. The country’s new regulation on outdoor lighting dictates the direction, brightness, and color spectrum of lights in an effort to protect biodiversity and human health, in addition to astronomy. 

The 2023 regulation also recognized that astronomy is not all that’s at risk. Two other focuses were incorporated: biodiversity and human health. Reduced artificial light could aid migrating seabirds, like Markham’s storm-petrel that nests in the Atacama Desert; thousands die each year because of city lights, putting them at risk of extinction. And light pollution also interferes with the circadian rhythm of humans and other species.

The restrictions apply to all outdoor lighting, from the small-scale, such as streetlights, to the large, like mining facilities. Lamps cannot be directed towards the upper hemisphere, and the law regulates their luminosity and color spectrum. Lighting can emit no more than 7 percent of blue light, and in Special Protection Areas, which include astronomical sites and protected areas for biodiversity, it’s limited to just 1 percent.

But there is a major constraint that Blanc and Angeloni agreed on: oversight. Does Chile have the resources to oversee correct lighting all over the country? Loaiza Arias recognized it as a challenge. These types of regulations are massive and ambitious in terms of the sources of light they regulate, Loaiza Arias explained. And because the regulation has limited application when it comes to lights that are already installed, the measures, he said, are more so preventive.

For some people, like Villalobos, more work could be done. Although the regulation is positive, she said, it only oversees individual lights and overlooks the collective light pollution from a facility. If people were aware of light pollution, she says, the issue might be easier to tackle.

Often, urban dwellers are not aware of how over-illuminated their cities are. The use of lighting that is brighter than needed, or turned on at unessential times, has caused a widespread global fog of light. According to one 2016 study, an estimated one-third of the world population cannot see the Milky Way, including 60 percent of Europeans and nearly 80 percent of North Americans.

ALTHOUGH CHILE’S new lighting standard is one of the first of its kind in South America, and perhaps even the world, Loaiza Arias believes it is not immediately replicable: Chile recognizes how important astronomy is, both for science and the country’s economy, he said, but another country might have different priorities.

“Chile is showing us the way to how to do this in a sort of holistic fashion,” said Richard Green, an astronomer at the University of Arizona, who has studied dark skies for over 30 years and used to travel to the Atacama as part of his work at the U.S. National Observatory.

Lowenthal, the Smith College astronomer, wonders how other countries could replicate the regulation. Lowenthal believes that the night sky should also be protected, like air and water that are federally regulated under the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act, respectively. For him, the question is: What will it take for the night sky to be recognized as an essential part of the environment?

Beyond the consequences for astronomy, the night sky is a heritage and a connection to our human past, Lowenthal added: From Chile to the American Southwest, to Indonesia and Hawai’i, people have deeply understood the sky. Addressing light pollution, he said, is about maintaining that connection.

Villalobos eventually returned to the Atacama and Chile after years abroad studying light. She now sits on the International Committee of DarkSky International, a nonprofit that aims to protect and conserve the night sky. The Atacama Desert, to her, is more than just home to some of the world’s biggest observatories; here, people can experience the awe of the night sky once more.

In the Atacama, Villalobos said, “there’s nothing between you and the universe.”

Interviews for this story were conducted originally in Spanish, and subsequently translated to English. Alexa Robles-Gil is a Mexican science journalist based in New York City. She’s a contributing writer for the Chilean magazine Endémico.

We are thrilled to share some very exciting news – the first phase of the Oregon Outback International Dark Sky Sanctuary in southeastern Oregon has been certified by DarkSky International!  At 2.5 million acres, the Oregon Outback International Dark Sky Sanctuary is the largest Dark Sky Sanctuary in the world. The newly-certified, star-studded Sanctuary in Lake County is within the largest intact area of world class dark skies in the lower 48 states and represents an area about one-half the size of New Jersey!

The designation was given by DarkSky International, an organization dedicated to protecting the nighttime environment and preserving dark skies through environmentally responsible outdoor lighting. The project is the work of the Oregon Dark Sky Network, an ad-hoc group of state, local and federal officials, private individuals, business owners and tourism agencies. 

Travel Southern Oregon, which is a member of the network, celebrated the designation in a news release Monday. 

“This four-year collaboration brings together so many of the elements we try to achieve in regenerative tourism,” Bob Hackett, executive director of Travel Southern Oregon, said. “It not only elevates the destination experience for visitors to Lake County and opens up opportunities for local businesses, but it also helps agencies and residents steward their lands in ways that celebrate a legacy of starry night skies for generations to come.” 

Oregon already has two destinations with official DarkSky International designations: Prineville Reservoir State Park, which in 2021 became a Dark Sky Park, and Sunriver Nature Center & Observatory, which was named a Dark Sky Place in 2020.

The Oregon Outback Dark Sky Network that submitted the nomination represents a diverse team of state and local land managers, businesses, nonprofits and private individuals that worked tirelessly for the past four years to reach this outstanding milestone. But they’re not done yet–the Network aspires to expand the certified area eastward into Harney and Malheur Counties to encompass a full 11.4 million acres! 

The scale of this designation and the breadth of the partnership effort that went into it reflects the truly remarkable nighttime resource that we have here in Oregon, as well as the value of dark skies—for human and wildlife health, for the preservation of carefully choreographed ecosystem relationships, for our deep cultural history of looking skyward, and for the economic benefits to gateway cities in support of dark sky tourism.

DarkSky Oregon supports the OODS Network’s efforts by analyzing and providing night sky brightness measurement data and maps, which confirm the pristine nature of the Sanctuary’s night skies.
Learn more about this remarkable International Dark Sky Sanctuary and the efforts to protect Oregon’s night skies.

International Dark Sky Discovery Center announces 2024 groundbreaking in East Valley

​The International Dark Sky Discovery Center will have a Dark Sky Observatory, Hyperspace Planetarium, Inspiration Theater, a Night Sky Experience Exhibit Hall and an Einstein Exploration Station in Fountain Hills. The observatory will have the largest telescope in the Greater Phoenix area.

Development of a nonprofit STEM-based International Dark Sky Discovery Center will soon be underway in Fountain Hills during spring 2024.

​"We are over-the-top happy to share that our board unanimously voted to begin construction of the International Dark Sky Discovery Center," said Joe Bill, president of the International Dark Sky Discovery Center. "Groundbreaking is planned for March 2024."

The International Dark Sky Discovery Center will have a Dark Sky Observatory, Hyperspace Planetarium, Inspiration Theater, a Night Sky Experience Exhibit Hall and an Einstein Exploration Station. The observatory will have the largest telescope in the Greater Phoenix area, which Bill said has led to discussions with Arizona State University about collaborative opportunities.

"As a leader in STEM education and space exploration, ASU is excited by the creation of the International Dark Sky Discovery Center," said ASU President Michael M. Crow. "The Discovery Center reinforces Arizona's commitment to expanding our understanding of the universe, and we look forward to working with them to advance new research and learning opportunities."

Part of the mission of the Discovery Center is to help preserve dark skies, an important objective for the astronomy state of Arizona.

"Dark skies are an increasingly important part of Arizona's tourism offerings," said Lisa Urias, executive director of the Arizona Office of Tourism, "and the Discovery Center admirably represents our state's dedication to astronomical research and education."

Getting designated as an International Dark Sky Community is rare for a community so close to a major metropolitan area.

"Fountain Hills is the perfect location for the Discovery Center," State Sen. John Kavanagh of Fountain Hills said. "With its dark skies and proximity to millions of people, the Discovery Center will benefit the entire state."

The Discovery Center will be a 23,000-square-foot, nonprofit STEM science facility. Its STEM science mission of dark sky preservation relates to astronomy research, protection of nocturnal animals and human health.

The facility was designed by Swaback Architecture and construction will be done by McCarthy Builders. As a beacon of cosmic and technology education, the Discovery Center seeks the support of philanthropic partners to put the finishing touches on this first-of-its-kind facility.

More information, including a narrated 3D flyover of the Discovery Center, is available at darkskycenter.org.

Top 20 Stargazing Destination
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In June, Fountain Hills celebrated being a Top 20 Stargazing Destination in the country. The town was already recognized as the world's 17th International Dark Sky Community.

HomeToGo, at hometogo.com, an online vacation rental marketplace, released its 2023 Summer Stargazing Index, which ranked the top 17 stargazing destinations in the U.S. Fountain Hills was number 16 on the list.

"Fountain Hills continues to be recognized as one of the very best places on this planet to gaze up at the others," said Fountain Hills Mayor Ginny Dickey. 

To come up with the ranking, HomeToGo analyzed various factors, including average cloud cover and population density, to indicate how secluded an area is and the accessibility of affordable accommodations. Additionally, it even considered and evaluated many different International Dark Sky Places, which are considered top spots for stargazing thanks to their low light pollution.

The complete ranking of the top U.S. destinations for stargazing:

1. Westcliffe and Silver Cliff, Colo.
2. Dripping Springs, Ariz.
3. Harmony, Fla.
4. Flagstaff, Ariz.
5. Sedona, Ariz.
6 (Tied) Beverly Shores, Ind.
6 (Tied) Kaibab Paiute Indian Reservation, Ariz.
8. Fort Davis, Texas
9. Dripping Springs-Wimberley, Texas
10. Torrey, Utah
11. Horseshoe Bay, Texas
12. Lost Creek, Texas
13. Borrego Springs, Calif.
14. Village of Oak Creek, Ariz.
15. Homer Glen, Ill.
16. Fountain Hills, Ariz.
17. Ketchum, Idaho 

"It’s great, and well-deserved, to have Fountain Hills be recognized as one of the top star gazing locations on the planet,” added Bill. “As a dark sky oasis in the Valley of the Sun and the town’s prestigious designation as the 17th International Dark Sky Community in the world, Fountain HIlls is the perfect location for the planned, nonprofit 23,000-square-foot International Dark Sky Discovery Center." 

​by Kelly Mixer of the Queen Creek Sun-Times

To learn more about Fountain Hills International Dark Sky Community, visit fhdarksky.com, and learn more about the International Dark Sky Discovery Center at darkskycenter.org.

by Christine Coester, German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig​

A new collection of papers on artificial light at night show the impact of light pollution to be surprisingly far-reaching, with even low levels of artificial light disrupting species communities and entire ecosystems. Published in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B , the special theme issue, which includes 16 scientific papers, looks at the effects of light pollution in complex ecological systems, including soil, grassland, and insect communities.

Led by researchers at the German Center for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) and the Friedrich Schiller University Jena, the collection notes the increasing ubiquity of light pollution, while emphasizing the domino effect light pollution has on ecosystem function and stability.

Night skies are becoming brighter as the use of artificial lighting spreads across the globe. With an estimated annual uptick of up to 10%, the prevalence of light pollution is disrupting the natural light cycles that have been largely consistent throughout the Earth's history. These light cycles are vitally important to organisms who rely on light as a source of energy and information.

To date, studies looking at the impact of light pollution have largely focused on human health and individual species' responses, whereas investigating entire ecosystems, where species are linked through diverse interactions, has remained scarce.

"Species do not exist in isolation but rather interact in numerous ways," explains iDiv and the University of Jena's Dr. Myriam Hirt, who led the compilation and editing of the theme issue together with Dr. Remo Ryser. "Our aim was to better understand how the brightening of the night sky affects entire ecosystems and the benefits they provide."

Using the iDiv Ecotron, which consists of multiple controlled experimental-ecosystem chambers (so-called EcoUnits), several researchers simulated and altered light conditions at night. Key findings include the ability of artificial light to:

• reach below ground soil communities, impacting soil basal respiration and carbon-use efficiency
• influence invertebrate activity, which was linked to higher predation rates at night
• reduce plant biomass and diversity, as well as change plant traits, such as leaf hairiness
• potentially shift—homogenize—the periods when species are active, leading to increased overlap and ultimately threatening species persistence.

The studies also showed that even low intensities of light pollution—illuminance lower than that of a full moon—have profound effects not only on the behavioral and physiological responses of individual species but at more complex levels, such as communities and ecological networks, like food webs.
​
"Their individual responses to artificial lighting and their relationships with one another determine the outcome for the entire ecological system. For instance, an activity shift of diurnal and crepuscular species into the night increases extinction risks in the entire community," says Dr. Remo Ryser of iDiv and the University of Jena.

Another study in the issue investigated how artificial light produces indirect cascading effects with implications for humans. For example, changes in the abundance and behavior of mosquitoes—a vector species—in response to artificial light at night. The study shows that exposure leads to changes in the timing of key behaviors, such as host-seeking, mating, and flight activity, which might carry wide-scale consequences on the transmission of vector-borne diseases, like malaria.

Another paper looked at how different lighting strategies may mitigate the negative effects of artificial light. However, the special issue points out that flipping the switch on light pollution requires a nuanced approach given that the impact of light pollution varies significantly among species. This suggests that mitigation strategies may not be universally applicable.

As darkness disappears due to the consistent rise in artificial lighting around the world, the collection of studies highlights the cost of this expansion to people's health and ecosystems. By acknowledging the impact of this human-caused disturbance on species interactions and feedback loops, the special issue hopes to inspire future research and action that not only helps mitigate the harmful effects of light pollution, but fosters a sustainable coexistence between society's needs and the natural environment.

"The benefits of artificial light during the night are undeniable, but its adverse effects should not be ignored," says Dr. Myriam Hirt.
​
More information: Introduction to special issue: Myriam R. Hirt et al, Light pollution in complex ecological systems, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences (2023). DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2022.0351
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Journal information: Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B 

Originally published October 30, 2023 in Physics.org