Why We Need Dark Skies
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- Опубліковано 2 лип 2023
- Coming at you with a video all about International Dark Sky Parks and the reasons why dark skies deserve protection. Dark skies are a park resource that might get overlooked, but are still just as crucial for preservation as other resources. Light pollution negatively impacts parks just like other forms of pollution, like noise, water, and air pollution. Luckily, organizations like the International Dark Sky Association are fighting to protect night skies and one of the ways they are doing this is via the International Dark Sky Park designation. This is a supplementary designation aimed at holding parks accountable for preserving their dark sky resources. We discuss in this latest video. Enjoy!
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Jasper National Park in Alberta, Canada is the world's second largest dark sky park. It's so beautiful there day or night.
Ah, very cool! I've only been to Banff, but have heard great things about Jasper!
As a Park Ranger at two IDA parks, GRCA and BRCA it was a thrill to share skies like many never see. Yet another good story.
Thank you for everything you do to protect and share night skies! Totally agreed, it's a thrill like no other!
Remember kiddos, Half The Park is After Dark!
I lived in Flagstaff for a year, shoulda stayed, anyway, First designated Dark Sky City. And man was it amazing to be able to walk 100 yards and set up my telescope where its just me and the stars (and the trees and the ghosts in the cemetery where I used to set it up...)
And man all the parks we drove through going to Flag, Arches, Canyonlands, Bryce, CAPITOL REEF (overlooked, undeloved, unimaginably spectacular), Grand Canyon, are all Dark Sky parks, and it was spectacular.
I read about Flagstaff during my research! Super cool that they pioneered that designation for urban areas and made a commitment to dark sky preservation that early. Lots of respect for them and their efforts.
I'm going to Chaco Culture in October (hopefully camping!) to catch the solar eclipse that's going to go through there. It's my number one dark sky park because it was super close to where I grew up since I grew up in the northwest corner of NM. The ruins are gorgeous and really quite impressive even though they've been abandoned for centuries in the harsh desert elements, and it'll be really exciting to be in such an awe-inspiring place for the eclipse and then for the stars afterward.
WOW, I bet that will be incredible!! Enjoy your trip!
I love your content. I grew up in SW Arizona, with dark skies. It's something that too few people really experience. My favorite dark sky place is the open ocean. I had many, many chances to enjoy that during my time in the Navy. On the ocean, all lights off, hundreds of miles off the coast, is dark skies few get a chance to experience.
It's honestly one of my favorite things about heading out West. Every time I go out there, I'm in awe at the night sky. Just such a powerful and mesmerizing experience. I cherish it every time. Thanks for watching!
Living in a large metro city, I go to these parks to see the night sky just like some go to Yellowstone to see Old Faithful or to see the Grand Canyon. The dark sky is just as awe inspiring to me as any other natural wonder. When you get a chance to sit and gaze at a completely dark night sky, you get a sense of what our ancestors got to see every night and realize why they paid so much reverence for the stars.
Couldn't agree more. Dark skies are such an important, but often underrated, resource!
This isn't a dark sky park, but easily the craziest skies I've ever seen were on the North Knife or Bloodvein rivers in Canada. In particular on the North Knife as you get close to actually entering hudson bay you have the off chance to get some northern lights in the distance which was especially awesome. Those kinds of canoe trips are long, remote, rugged, and fun need to look into doing another.
Very cool! Yeah, I should have mentioned that there definitely _are_ places with great night skies that don't have a dark sky designation lol. Just wanted to emphasize that since this is a channel all about parks 😂
love dark sky parks, gonna go to great basin and camp in september so that should be awesome
Very nice, enjoy your trip!
I absolutely agree that dark skies need to be preserved. Not only for scientific or biological reasons but for humanistic reasons. I STILL remember the first time I saw the Milky Way when I was camping in the SoCal high desert as a kid in Boy Scouts. It blew my mind and triggered a massive interest in the universe. I still have my now outdated books about the solar systema dn universe. Seeing the Milky Way literally changed my perspective.
Totally agreed! There really is something special about seeing the night sky unobstructed. They connect us in so many ways with ourselves and the natural world and, as you said, spur that sense of excitement and for exploring the universe around it. Truly special.
I've gone to Chiricahua National Monument to take night sky shots before. I believe they have that designation. Pretty much any of the parks in Utah would be amazing. I want to visit Natural Bridges at night sometime.
This video reminded me of the experience of living in Flagstaff, AZ, where the Lowell observatory is. Most of the city's lights are dark sky friendly and there's just a different vibe at night there. It's hard to really quantify, but it definitely differs from other cities.
Totally agreed on Utah! Some of the best night skies I've ever seen! Funnily enough, Flagstaff is IDA certified as well, but as an International Dark Sky Community. It was the first ever place to carry the designation! It pioneered the way for urban areas to adopt dark sky friendly policies and lighting ordinances. Great job Flagstaff!
www.darksky.org/our-work/conservation/idsp/communities/flagstaff/
Years ago, I thought at an inner-city school in San Antonio, Texas. I had the opportunity to take several students to Big Bend national Park. One evening we went on a night hike. All of the students commented about how dark skies were and that they never realize there were so many stars in the sky.
What an incredible experience! It's stories like that that can really show the value of dark sky preservation and the importance of immersing kids in the natural world. Thanks for doing that!
Tonapah Nevada has a dark sky viewing area, but they built a new truck stop about 100 yards away, and the lights from it was ridiculous. The best I've seen is on Monarch Pass in Colorado. It was absolutely amazing !
Best video yet. Light pollution is one of the easiest things to reverse. Turn off lights when you aren't using them. Only place light where it is needed, only shine light on the ground instead up into the sky. The list goes on. Thank you for shedding "light" on this important topic.
Thank you! I agree. Light pollution is one of those things that's actually so simple to solve, we just have to spread the word and raise awareness.
I currently live in Flagstaff, Arizona which is the first International Dark Sky Place. It's so awesome to be able to walk through downtown (with lights on at night) and look up and see the milky way, even better when you go just a little ways out of downtown.
Really proud of Flagstaff for that. Love their commitment to night skies!
Organ Pipe NM is one where I had a magical experience of a dark sky and meteor falling near by. The area around the 4 corners (AZ,UT,CO,NM) is great too. Also had a great experience skinny dipping in a hot spring in NV. The night sky was incredible!
Southwest has some great Dark Sky places, for sure! Was in the 4 Corners region last fall and can confirm - dark skies were wonderful!
This was long before the Darkskies initiative, but I remember visiting Banff and Jasper parks in Canada in 1967 and again in 1976. The night skies were simply incredible! My parents and I would sit outside our trailer by the embers of the campfire and just look up at the night sky for long stretches. Another place that had amazing night skies was Padre Island National Seashore on the north end of Padre Island off the coast of Texas in 1974 and 1976. The park rangers had an educational session about twice a week teaching people to identify the constellations visible at that location.
It's one of my favorite things to do in parks. I'm heading to Joshua Tree in a few days and already have some night sky activities planned!
Natural Bridges National Monument and the whole Grand Gulch area is amazing. There's also the nearby Bear's Ears National Monument. Absolutely years of exploring to do. You don't have to go very far off the beaten path to feel "out there".
Never a truer, more accurate comment has been written on UA-cam! I just got back from a weekend trip in that region, taking the Burr Trail Road. Between Natural Bridges, Bears Ears. Grand Escalante and Capitol Reef, there's so much to see. One of the more mind blowing trips I've taken (and it's not my first time in the region either)
I've never been to Natural Bridges or Grand Gulch, but I was in Bears Ears last October and can confirm that the night skies are truly something to behold. My East Coast brain couldn't quite comprehend what I was seeing at times lol. One of my favorite trips!
The nearest dark sky park by me is Newport State Park in Wisconsin. There’s one pier across a small bay from this park, and it’s awe inspiring being on this pier; being surrounded by nothing but the sounds of Lake Michigan and the night sky.
Very cool! Love a good night sky over a body of water.
More than ten years ago in June, even if my home was located in the city, I could still see the Milky Way (the center of the Milky Way in Scorpio) with the naked eye on a cloudless night. Now most of the street lights have been changed to white LEDs, and it is becoming less and less visible.
That's really disappointing. This is one of the things the IDA points out in their best practices for dark sky preservation. So much of that light is just filtering out and upward, obscuring every facet of the night sky...
We were at Idaho's City of Rocks NP, and the ranger there was excited to announce that they had just recently been designated a Dark Sky Park, it was in 2023 so very recently. It is a rugged park, camping is permitted but it is primitive camping and we were there in May and there was snow on the ground.
Nice! Love to see more parks getting the designation!
Having to live in a city and hearing birds chirping at 3am is a terrible experience.
Ya. It messes with me too. Plus, the poor confused birds. Not a good time for anything
Hope you are being ironic.
I can think of far worse urban night noises.
Like foxes! lol
I thought the birds in my area were just developmentally delayed because in between their squawking they're divebombing my poor cat.
Light pollution is really one of the worst things to come out of the Industrial Revolution. It removes one of the things that humanity has always taken for granted, i.e. marveling at the Universe clearly visible in the night skies, something which has inspired countless individuals to pursue a scientific career as it instilled the right sense of awe at the sheer scale of what they observed.
Within the constant light dome of artificial lighting, that sense of wonder and awe cannot exist, and reduces the gaze of current and future generations to just what is here on the surface of Earth. Just some moths flapping about aimlessly around a light bulb, unaware of where they are, or where they should be. Dark Sky Parks are an invaluable resource in that regard, and I'm very glad that they exist. Everyone, especially children, should have a chance to visit them.
Couldn't agree more Maya! I think dark sky resources are an underrated part of park preservation, but just as critical for protection. Nothing really compares to that sense of awe and wonder you get peering into the vastness of outer space and that feeling that you're part of something so much bigger.
@@NationalParkDiaries The most mindbending experience there comes from astronauts during an EVA, as they look up from their work and see the Earth suspended there within the vastness of Space. The closest we can come to that is probably to stand in the midst of the wilderness, preferably somewhere high, and look up at the night sky. Seeing the Milky Way and so many stars . It's really quite special.
I imagine Carl Sagan would have been a great fan of Dark Sky Parks too :)
You're right, I think he absolutely would have!
Very interesting video. Did not know this supplemental designation even existed! Enjoy the channel and thank you for taking the time to make this content.
On another note, would be great if there was standard for cities to be more dark sky friendly.
Thank you and thanks for watching! I didn't mention it in this episode (wanted to focus on the parks lol), but the IDA _does_ have a designation for Dark Sky Communities. Flagstaff, AZ has been mentioned a few times in the comments and they were the first ever to receive that designation. Here's a link if you want to learn more: www.darksky.org/our-work/conservation/idsp/communities/
Thanks for the awesome content and great videos!!
Thanks for watching!
@@NationalParkDiaries Always ♥️
Didn't start the video yet but preach! PREACH! It's so hard to find a good dark sky in the East Coast I swear.
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Fantastic video! Clear and concise on how this affects us all on the planet. Thank you you for producing this. 11:22
Thanks for watching!
Thanks!
Thanks so much for your support!
Great job, but you forgot to mention that it can be a hit-or-miss on the weather. We were at Cayonland and one other place and had clouds on both nights. Still enjoyed the parks during the day though.
Very informative! Thank you. I am very thankful to the parks that preserve the dark skies. Even if you go out in the country around here, you still have too many lights and the glow from the cities around. Canyonlands sounds like an amazing place. I want to go there one day. Ruins/arches/dark skies? Yes please 🤗
Thanks for watching!
Great topic and very well covered. I agree with you about Canyonlands night skies. I've also been awed by the skies over Big Bend NP in Texas and Craters of the Moon NP in Idaho, which are also Dark Sky certified.
Craters of the Moon is a National Monument, not a National Park (yet)
I have heard many say that Big Bend is the best National Park for night skies. Thanks for watching!
I stayed the night at Cherry Springs State Park, PA couple of years ago and it was an awesome experience. I didnt plan it at all, but it just so happened that they were doing a star tour the night I was there and I got to see Venus and Jupiter through their telescopes.
Sounds like an awesome experience!
I’ve been to a few dark sky parks including Cherry Springs SP in PA, and Spruce Knob SP in WV. I’ll be out in Canyonlands, Arches, Capitol Reef, and Bryce in October, I am really looking forward to the night skies and getting to photograph them.
The night skies are fantastic out there, you won't be disappointed!
Once you get out West under dry and clear skies you will frown upon cherry Springs after that. But you must witness the dark skies
Big Bend was amazing! Highly recommend the trek out to get there
Heard so many good things on Big Bend dark skies!! Going to have to get out there soon.
Great information! We are in the Badlands NP for the next couple of nights. So looking forward to the night sky.
Jealous! Enjoy the trip!
Great Basin NP in Nevada is stunning at night, I can’t recommend it enough for stargazing.
I have heard it's one of the best for night skies in the US!
Been meaning to go back to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison as an adult for a few years now. I’m pretty sure it’s a dark park, so awesome views day and night!
Yep, it's IDA certified! Have fun out there!
The Dark Sky Park status will be harder and harder to maintain, as it also depends on the land surrounding the parks themselves. You can have dark sky friendly facilities inside the park, but as urban developments grow and grow, the sky is turning from black to purple . This is what's happening in Southern California where I live. All the ranches and farms are being bought up every year and converting to warehouses or residential areas. It's so hard to even find a dark sky where I can just gaze at the stars or enjoy the awe of a meteor shower these days without driving at least 2 hours from my area, and even there you still get a glare in the night sky.
That's a great point. Dark Sky measures have to be universal and used in combination to achieve better dark sky coverage overall. The IDA also has dark sky certifications for urban areas as well (Flagstaff is an example of this), which would help to offset some of the effect on developing areas. www.darksky.org/our-work/conservation/idsp/communities/
As someone who lives in Perth, Western Australia - I really do take my proximity to these dark sky reserves for granted. An hour away from my house and I can see some of the best viewing conditions on the planet.
Its an experience, I really recommend everyone to visit one of these places one day.
So jealous! Hoping to visit Australia one day ❤
i see a couple mentions of flagstaff where i lived for a couple years so i wont repeat what others mentioned about its history as the first dark sky city. but i will say you should visit if youve never been
I stayed there when I went to the Grand Canyon back in 2018, but I wasn't there nearly long enough to enjoy it. I need to go back!
Very sad. I’ve always thought about it my whole life, since I was probably in middle school, when I went on a cruise and saw true darkness and the Milky Way… I realized what I had been missing, and still to this day where I live in The suburbs of baltimore md(which is considered somewhat rural) I still can’t see 10% of what I saw out there in the ocean.. I tried to visit cherry springs state park which is a certified dark sky park just outside of Allegheny national forest Pennsylvania on Oct 2021 but was cursed with rain and clouds all 3 days.. tbh I yurn for the true night sky.. I’ve been very fortunate to have went on 3 cruises in my 32 years of life, and those times were the only times I’ve really seen the night sky. All other vacations and trips to the woods or camping I’ve taken were in parks in the mid Atlantic/south East and none were truly dark, with the exception of one trip to far west North Carolina and I was in a national park for a single night.. I truly feel like I’ve missed out on that true feeling of wonder throughout my life because I can’t see the real night sky at night. My next trip will be somewhere with true darkness
I hope you're able to make it one day - you won't regret it. I've been fortunate enough to see many a night sky on my travels and it truly is breathtaking and awe-inspiring each time. If you can swing it, I recommend somewhere in the West - the night skies are incredible out there. Best of luck and thanks for watching!
I didn't know about the Dark Sky Parks. Living in New Jersey, it has always be a treat to head west or to the north to really see the night sky. I have visited many large national parks that could qualify. But I noticed that there are only about a half-dozen east of the Mississippi River.
I agree, the West is great for dark sky viewing. I'm an East Coaster myself and you're right that, unfortunately, we don't have as many National Parks back this way. Most of that is a remnant of these areas being settled long before the idea of National Parks came into being, whereas Western parks could be carved from land the government "owned," and which was not settled yet. I do love our East Coast nature though! We have some special places worth protecting that I consider on par with anything out West!
I think that the Namib Rand in Namibia is a private dark skies park but most are state owned.There is an urban dark skies area so hope for Central Park yet!
The more dark skies the better, public or private! When researching this video, I did read about Dark Sky International's certification for private property, which does have to include a commitment to public access (among other things), so that's pretty cool!
Great Basin National Park is a super Dark Sky park and not that visited. Keep this location in mind. There are also the cavern tours. Thanks for the Dark Sky info and take care.
I hear it's one of the best dark sky parks, along with Big Bend!
I think so.
Dark skies show how much space debris we have...
it's getting kinda sad...
Great video. Do you think my path lights hinder the need for dark skies? I hope not.
Thanks! And, I don't think so, I think they're just fine!
We need to get rid of the street lights. What is the point? We can't press the button for 60% of the lights? And it ruins my opportunity for taking any pictures in town. Even in the country it is disgusting how much a tiny Town ruins the night sky.
Wow
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@@NationalParkDiaries ya welcome
The Greater Big Bend International Dark Sky Reserve is the largest Dark Sky Certified place in the world.
Please don't do a feature on Big Bend National Park, it is my favorite and I want to keep it a secret. :) Thank you!
Did not know that, but I've heard some wonderful things about the Big Bend dark skies!
@@NationalParkDiaries
It’s been a joint public/private project. Even the oil drilling in the area discovered “dark sky” lighting is actually safer . I encourage you to visit . Big Bend NP is considered to have darkest skies in the lower 48 states
TT
Ever since I moved to the countryside 3 years ago I miss the pink light pollution skies of the city. I know it sounds ridiculous but I used to love watching the clouds drifting at night in the pink glow. Now when I watch the night sky on a cloudy night I see nothing but black. Stars don't really do it for me either because there's no philosophical meaning behind it for me. I see a flat painted background rather than an infinite expanse. Nothing poetic or existential strikes me. I find more meaning in random patterns than the gulf of shimmering emptiness above my head when the sun goes away.
That's an interesting observation, and perfectly reasonable to me! I also love a good city sunset, especially over the skyline. There is a special connection there. I personally love both. Especially when I can get out West to some _really_ dark skies and see the Milky Way. That's where I find that existential feeling of awe and wonder. Thanks for sharing!
Women need to light up the night so we don’t get assaulted. It’s funny this doesn’t even cross this boy’s mind.
Safe and secure lighting can ALSO be dark sky friendly. While you have a point, a well-planned lighting scheme can provide lighting that discourages assaults and property crimes but doesn't pump light into the sky, glare into eyes of drivers or misdirected light into people's bedroom windows. Safe and secure lighting is an issue in rural, suburban and city areas. Of course, safety in parks (even dark sky parks) is also an issue but in such isolated places, people of any gender should be traveling in pairs or groups for safety from lots of different risks. None of what I have said changes the risk that women face alone at night. But this 'boy' is making a different point that I hope you might now appreciate a bit more.
Your voice is for reading bedtime stories to children. Good content though.
Hahahaha, I get that a lot on this channel 😂 Thanks for watching!
Yeah I used to do a lot of amateur astronomy back in the 90s when I still had a decent reflector and was always trying to find good places to do it, places with dark skies it's getting harder, we've got a small refractor out here now and if you're using a wide enough field-of-view lens you will actually see a satellite go by every now and then in the telescopes field-of-view! You didn't see that back in the 90s I never saw it in the 90s, the satellites are all over the place up there now!