• Email Us: [email protected]
  • Contact Us: +1 718 874 1545
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Medical Market Report

  • Home
  • All Reports
  • About Us
  • Contact Us

What Is A “Dark Sky Island”?

August 24, 2024 by Deborah Bloomfield

The island of Sark, which sits in the English Channel, is well-known for its quirks; you’re more likely to see someone there riding a horse than driving, thanks to a ban on cars. It has one unique trait that stands out, above the rest, however – back in 2011, it became the world’s first-ever Dark Sky Island. But what exactly does that mean?

Advertisement

Staying in the dark

Remember when it seemed like everyone and their uncle saw Aurora a couple of months back? That wasn’t entirely the case – some people living in places like large towns and cities had trouble making it out in the sky.

The reason? It may well have been down to light pollution and being designated a Dark Sky Island is in recognition of taking steps to tackle such a problem.

It’s one of a number of titles given out by the International Dark Sky Places (IDSP) program to “areas and communities around the world certified by DarkSky International to meet strict criteria for protection of the night sky and minimization of light pollution through responsible lighting policies and public education.”

To become a Dark Sky Place – there are Communities, Sanctuaries, and Reserves, to name a few – criteria include having a sky quality above a particular level of luminance (a measure of the sky’s brightness), where the area is (is it remote or well-populated?), and the level of access the public has at night.

night sky

Take a decent camera to a Dark Sky Place and you could nab a picture like this.

Image credit: Esterg/Shutterstock.com

Protecting the night sky

But what’s the point of such a certification? “The night sky and nocturnal environment are naturally, culturally, and historically important resources worthy of conservation,” says DarkSky, the organization running the program.

Advertisement

As anyone who missed out on the aurora can bear witness to, one of the issues that come from avoiding conservation is missing out on seeing the night sky, a long important part of human culture that’s helped us to navigate, understand more about our universe, and give us something rather pretty to look at.

Then there’s the impact that light pollution has on Earth’s ecosystems. Chad Moore, who co-founded the US National Parks Night Skies Program told DarkSky: “When we add light to the environment, that has the potential to disrupt habitat, just like running a bulldozer over the landscape can.”

It’s a problem that’s becoming all the more apparent with reports of birds flying into brightly lit buildings, leaves becoming harder for insects to eat, and turtle hatchlings losing their way on their journey to the sea.

By creating dark sky oases and incorporating public access and education as part of that, it’s hoped that greater attention will be brought to the threats facing successful conservation, and see-it-yourself examples of why protection is so important.

Advertisement

To learn more about how astronomers are stepping up to protect the night sky, check out IFLScience’s exclusive interview with key figures at the 32nd General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union.

Deborah Bloomfield
Deborah Bloomfield

Related posts:

  1. Amazon’s cashierless ‘Just Walk Out’ tech is coming to Whole Foods stores
  2. UK’s Ocado invests in Wayve for autonomous grocery deliveries
  3. Incredible New JWST Image Looks Like Art – What Does It Actually Show?
  4. Green Parrots Rub Against Plants For Parasite Protection – And Probably Also To Get High

Source Link: What Is A “Dark Sky Island”?

Filed Under: News

Primary Sidebar

  • Martian Mudstone Has Features That Might Be Biosignatures, New Brain Implant Can Decode Your Internal Monologue, And Much More This Week
  • Crocodiles Weren’t All Blood-Thirsty Killers, Some Evolved To Be Plant-Eating Vegetarians
  • Stratospheric Warming Event May Be Unfolding In The Southern Polar Vortex, Shaking Up Global Weather Systems
  • 15 Years Ago, Bees In Brooklyn Appeared Red After Snacking Where They Shouldn’t
  • Carnian Pluvial Event: It Rained For 2 Million Years — And It Changed Planet Earth Forever
  • There’s Volcanic Unrest At The Campi Flegrei Caldera – Here’s What We Know
  • The “Rumpelstiltskin Effect”: When Just Getting A Diagnosis Is Enough To Start The Healing
  • In 1962, A Boy Found A Radioactive Capsule And Brought It Inside His House — With Tragic Results
  • This Cute Creature Has One Of The Largest Genomes Of Any Mammal, With 114 Chromosomes
  • Little Air And Dramatic Evolutionary Changes Await Future Humans On Mars
  • “Black Hole Stars” Might Solve Unexplained JWST Discovery
  • Pretty In Purple: Why Do Some Otters Have Purple Teeth And Bones? It’s All Down To Their Spiky Diets
  • The World’s Largest Carnivoran Is A 3,600-Kilogram Giant That Weighs More Than Your Car
  • Devastating “Rogue Waves” Finally Have An Explanation
  • Meet The “Masked Seducer”, A Unique Bat With A Never-Before-Seen Courtship Display
  • Alaska’s Salmon River Is Turning Orange – And It’s A Stark Warning
  • Meet The Heaviest Jelly In The Seas, Weighing Over Twice As Much As A Grand Piano
  • For The First Time, We’ve Found Evidence Climate Change Is Attracting Invasive Species To Canadian Arctic
  • What Are Microfiber Cloths, And How Do They Clean So Well?
  • Stowaway Rat That Hopped On A Flight From Miami Was A “Wake-Up Call” For Global Health
  • Business
  • Health
  • News
  • Science
  • Technology
  • +1 718 874 1545
  • +91 78878 22626
  • [email protected]
Office Address
Prudour Pvt. Ltd. 420 Lexington Avenue Suite 300 New York City, NY 10170.

Powered by Prudour Network

Copyrights © 2025 · Medical Market Report. All Rights Reserved.

Go to mobile version