When I moved from Seattle to here, I was really happy. One reason being that finally, I lived away from the big city and would have dark skies to indulge a long-time hobby of mine - astronomy. Got the first really clear night and was treated to a view of the skyglow from the conurbation around Abbotsford, British Columbia - less than 20 miles to my Northwest. Population of 150,000. I can practically read a newspaper from the light pollution.
A friend of mine turned me on to this Island - from The Guardian:
Sark is world's first 'dark sky island'
The Isle of Sark draws its fair share of visitors in the warm months of summer. The rock is a haven for rare wildlife, a landscape where pretty hedgerows and quaint villages are bordered by a breathtaking, craggy coastline. There is plenty to do. The events calendar is full with wildflower walks, scarecrow competitions and sheep races that last a weekend.
Today, the inhabitants of Sark, the smallest of the four main Channel Islands, celebrate a unique addition to their list of attractions, one they hope will bring more visitors in the cold, dark winter season. Lying 80 miles off the south coast of England, Sark has been declared the first "dark sky island" in the world.
The award is in recognition of the exceptional blackness of the night sky that makes for spectacular stargazing on the island. On a cloud-free night, countless stars and hurtling meteors are visible against a backdrop of the Milky Way that reaches across the sky from one horizon to the other.
The announcement, by the International Dark Sky Association (IDA), a US-based organisation devoted to preserving the darkest and most beautiful night skies on Earth, follows more than a year of work with the island's 600-strong community to ensure as little light as possible spills upwards into the sky, where it can blot out starlight.
"You get spectacular views from lots of places in the UK, but there are few very special sites that are world class in terms of how dark they are," said Steve Owens, an astronomer who led Sark's application to the IDA.
Time for a road-trip! A couple more great stories at the link - well worth visiting and reading the whole thing.
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