Dark Sky Parks

Above, one of the places recommended is Desert View at the Grand Canyon. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Today's night skies are getting harder and harder to enjoy unless one goes out to a remote area somewhere with their telescope or binoculars.

However, there are still places to go to and Sky & Telescope has a list of ten of them.

They begin with:

There’s a simple rule for anyone searching for a dark sky; go somewhere others are not. The spread of LED lighting in North America over the past decade or so has worsened light pollution and skyglow in many previously dark locations. However, the vastness of the U.S. means there are still plenty of empty spaces where deep-sky objects and the Milky Way can still be seen easily with the naked eye. In celebration of International Dark Sky Week (April 15-21, 2018), let's look at a few of them. 

A good place to start is the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA), which certifies mainly national parks, state parks, and national monuments as having night sky-friendly lighting. The IDA differentiates between Dark Sky Reserves and Dark Sky Parks: Dark Sky Reserves are areas where light pollution is being actively curtailed despite the presence of towns and settlements. All very important, but for the finest astronomical experiences, it's Dark Sky Parks you should head to — only in these mostly remote places will you find nighttime conditions prevalent before the introduction of electric lighting in the late 19th century.

When I bought my house in New Mexico, I was told by the realtor that the area I will be living in has great nighttime views. Up until recently, it has been too cold to go outside to enjoy the night sky. But yesterday morning, I left Gallup for home at 5:00 and even before I arrived home, the number of stars (and planets) I was able to see through my windshield were amazing.

One of the places recommended by Sky & Telescope is Desert View at Grand Canyon National Park. The Watchtower is located at Desert View.

To read more, go here.