• 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

  • If Birds Are Dinosaurs, Why Are None As Big As T. Rexes?
  • Psychologists Demonstrate Illusion That Could Be Screwing Up Our Perception Of Time
  • Why Are So Many Enormous Roman Shoes Being Discovered At Hadrian’s Wall?
  • Scientists Think They’ve Pinpointed Structural Differences In Psychopaths’ Brains
  • We’ve Found Our Third-Ever Interstellar Visitor, Orcas Filmed Kissing (With Tongues) In The Wild, And Much More This Week
  • The “Eyes Of Clavius” Will Be Visible On The Moon Today, Thanks To Clair-Obscur Effect
  • Shockingly High Microplastic Levels Found On Remote Mediterranean Coral Reef Island
  • Interstellar Object, Cheesy Nightmares, And Smooching Orcas
  • World’s Largest Martian Meteorite Up For Auction Could Reach Whopping $2-4 Million
  • Kimalu The Beluga Whale Undergoes Pioneering Surgery And Becomes First Beluga To Survive General Aesthetic
  • The 1986 Soviet Space Mission That’s Never Been Repeated: Mir To Salyut And Back Again
  • Grisly Incident In Yellowstone National Park Shows Just How Dangerous This Vibrant Wilderness Can Be
  • Out Of All Greenhouse Gas Emitters On Earth, One US Organization Takes The Biscuit
  • Overly Ambitious Adder Attempts To Eat Hare 10 Times Its Mass In Gnarly Video
  • How Fast Does A Spacecraft Need To Go To Escape The Solar System?
  • President Trump’s Cuts To USAID Could Result In A “Staggering” 14 Million Avoidable Deaths By 2030
  • Dzo: Hybrids Beasts That Are Perfectly Crafted For Life On Earth’s Highest Mountains
  • “Rarest Event Ever” Had A Half-Life 1 Trillion Times Longer Than The Age Of The Universe – How Did We See It?
  • Meet The Bille, A Self-Righting Tetrahedron That Nobody Was Sure Could Exist
  • Neurogenesis Confirmed: Adult Brains Really Do Make New Hippocampal Neurons
  • 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