CHAPTER 06
Dark Sky Refuges
SEEING A TRULY DARK SKY IS AN UNFORGETTABLE EXPERIENCE.
With most of the planet’s landmass impacted by light pollution, several organizations – and an emerging astrotourism industry – are seeking to reclaim our natural starry nights. The movement has been led by the efforts of the nonprofit International Dark Sky Association (IDA) based in Arizona, USA, with members around the world, and which has fostered important collaborations with research institutes and light industry.
High, dry, dark and accessible sites are ideal, such as the locations of major astronomical observatories and places designated by the IDA as Dark Sky parks, reserves and sanctuaries. In 2007, the Natural Bridges National Monument in Utah, USA, became the first Dark Sky park and, today, the list includes about 100 sites in North America and across the world. Canada has the two largest Dark Sky parks in the world (Jasper National Park and Grassland National Park). In Europe, more than twenty sites span the continent from Ukraine, Czechia and Hungary, to Germany and Spain. A similiar European designation, the Starlight Reserve, has emerged with the support of UNESCO, also with a growing list of sites across the globe.
FINLAND
Colourful curtains of the Northern Lights reveal their most majestic beauty in a naturally dark night environment just a few hours drive from the Finnish capital.
Many areas with natural night sky and existing ecotourism or cultural tourism have the basic infra-structure to protect their dark skies and welcome stargazers. Among the sites featured in this chapter are New Zealand’s Lake Tekapo and the Alqueva Dark Sky Reserve in Portugal, both examples of the ways in which astrotourism can become a sustainable source for the local community. Sites with an official designation need to meet certain criteria in order to qualify, such as the local community taking measures to protect the sky from light pollution. But numerous other destinations are suitable for stargazing, without having an official designation. These ‘dark spots’ are visible in the New World Atlas of Artificial Sky Brightness and can be seen in NASA’s Earth at Night satellite images. However, the World Atlas maps do not account for the very effective altitude factor. Even close to metropolitan areas, which appear very bright in satellite images, stargazers can experience better air transparency in elevated locations, where the thinner atmosphere helps to decrease the amount of scattered light pollution known as skyglow. The narrow band of dark sky above the Alps in western Europe is a prominent example of this, where starry skies are visible close to valleys packed with lights from the towns and ski resorts. Mount Wilson and Mount Palomar observatories in the Southern California, USA, are other notable examples. Although close to Los Angeles and San Diego, leading research is still possible from these locations thanks to an 1,800 m (6,000 ft) gain in altitude from the light-polluted cities at sea level. Resembling an unreachable castle atop a rugged peak in the Pyrenees, in Europe, Pic du Midi Observatory is also surrounded by lights from towns in southern France and northern Spain, from its altitude of 2,877 m (9,500 ft), yet the Milky Way is still prominently visible.
Some of the world’s finest dark skies feature in this chapter. A favourite among astronomers is the Atacama Desert in Chile, one of the world’s driest places and home to several major observatories. Walking in the arid desert, on the red soil scattered with rocks and boulders, feels like being on Mars under the Earth sky. The town of San Pedro de Atacama is a busy stargazing hub. In summer the best locations are close to the Altiplano highlands, while in winter months, the lower desert flats offer the best vistas. At the southern end of the desert, the wine region of Elqui Valley near the city of La Serena is another prime astrotourism destination, with high mountains and hotels specifically designed for stargazing. The islands of Hawaii are also worth a mention, in particular the Big Island itself, the dormant volcano Mauna Kea, on which the Mauna Kea Observatory sits some 4,200 m (13,800 ft) above sea level. It’s a position that has made the observatory one of the world’s leaders in astronomy. The Haleakala Crater on the Hawaiian island of Maui is home to another, very accessible observatory. The Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean are well known to stargazers – in particular, the environmentally protected island of La Palma, 300 miles (480 km) off the coast of north-western Africa, with a major observatory at a very dramatic edge of a massive caldera. The island is often called the stargazing paradise of Europe.
With its profound motto ‘half the park is after dark’, The Night Skies Program operated by the US National Park Service is pioneering in its efforts to protect the last remaining natural dark skies. The US Southwest has the most popular stargazing destinations from various Utah parks to the Grand Canyon, Yosemite and Death Valley (one of the world’s largest dark-sky places). Many other parks, although not four-season stargazing destinations, have truly dark skies and include Acadia in the northeast, Mount Rainier in the northwest, Grand Teton and Yellowstone in Wyoming, the Badlands in South Dakota and the Big Bend in Texas.
NASA’s Earth at Night satellite images evidently display how dark skies grow above the Australian outback. From Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park in the country’s central desert to Western Australia and the southern coastline of Victoria, along the Great Ocean Road, there are many favourite places to camp beneath the stars.
Seeing a truly dark sky is an unforgettable experience. To witness the patchy glow of our home galaxy shimmering from afar, just above the horizon of our little planet is breathtaking whether it is your first experience or you are a seasoned night-sky observer. Today, many people who have not seen a natural sky might think such descriptions belong to science fiction, but this view still exists. Seeing a dark night sky is not just a visual sensation, but an experience that connects us both to our past and to our future. Dark skies constitute a unique natural heritage both to appreciate and to actively preserve.
DARK SKY RESERVES
Publicly accessible, Dark Sky preserves possess an exceptional and distinguished quality of starry nights in nocturnal environments that are specifically protected as much for their scientific, natural, educational and cultural heritage as for public enjoyment. A designation from the International Dark Sky Association (IDA), or as part of the Starlight Reserves initiative under UNESCO, helps raise the profile of a location, increasing astrotourism and contributing to a more sustainable local economy. With the growing awareness of the value of a truly dark sky, there is also an increase in travel to places with a protected natural night environment.
Not all of the 100 plus designated Dark Sky places (darksky.org/idsp) provide a similar quality of night sky. Those listed as Dark Sky communities and Urban Night Sky Places, for example, are simply legally organized cities and towns that have adopted quality outdoor lighting and seek to educate residents about the importance of dark skies. The night sky is not spectacularly dark in these places, but is better than in other urban areas. The first such place was Flagstaff, Arizona, USA. Places listed as Dark Sky parks include a number of national parks in North America, while Dark Sky reserves consist of a dark ‘core’ zone with a populated periphery. Dark Sky sanctuaries represent the most extreme category, and are the most remote (and often darkest) places in the world, whose conservation state is most fragile. Some of the world’s most notable observatory sites feature in this category.
Mértola PORTUGAL
Constellation Andromeda hangs in the sky above the century-old, now water-filled mine of Sao Domingos in Mértola. Towards the top of the image, the fuzzy light of the Andromeda Galaxy (M31) is visible against a faint greenish background of airglow activity. At more than 200,000 light years wide, this neighbouring galaxy is larger than the Milky Way, and at a distance of 2.5 million light years from Earth, its light is older than the emergence of our earliest ancestors, Homo habilis (around 2 million years). M31 is one of the two closest spirals to our Milky Way, the other one being the Triangulum Galaxy (M33), seen as a faint halo at the centre of this image. In ideal conditions, M33 is the furthest object barely visible to the naked eye at a distance of 3 million light years away.
Brittany FRANCE
Photographed from the Pointe de Pen-Hir in Brittany on a clear September evening, the Milky Way appears to emerge from the Atlantic Ocean. A nearby town brightens the sky behind the cliffs to the left, but the night sky towards the ocean is unspoiled of light pollution. The bright central bulge of the galaxy in Sagittarius stands above small islets, beyond which are the lights of Cap Sizun some 25 km (15 miles) away across the water.
Alqueva PORTUGAL
Constellation Orion (the Hunter) is seen away from city lights in the Alentejo region of Portugal. Known as Dark Sky Alqueva, this area was the first site to be certified as a Starlight Tourism Destination by the Starlight Foundation. Encompassing both Portuguese and Spanish councils, it is a unique cross-border Dark Sky place and testimony to the fact that the sky removes our boundaries. Just below the tree’s branches, the bright winter star Sirius rises above a far-city glow. A deep-sky object is also clearly in view, close to the centre of the image – a small fuzzy ‘star’ just to the right of the three aligned blue stars of Orion’s belt. This is the Orion Nebula (M42), magnificent when seen using a telescope, but a tiny ghost to the naked eye.
Mackenzie NEW ZEALAND
The large number of protected natural areas within New Zealand make it a fantastic destination for stargazing. Here, at Lake Tekapo within Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve, the Church of the Good Shepherd is illuminated by sky-friendly lights that allow the galaxy to remain visible. This panoramic image takes in the southern Milky Way from the Carina Nebula (pink halo) to the left of the Crux constellation (the Southern Cross) and two bright stars of Alpha and Beta Centauri (centre). The bright galactic bulge in Sagittarius (the Archer) can be seen on the right.
NATIONAL PARKS
The well-established Night Skies Program organized by US national parks serves as a model for Dark Sky activities in other countries around the world. Such sites run astronomy programmes through which people of all ages can learn more about the wonders of the night sky. In the United States and Canada, events include telescopic observation and full-moon walks with rangers, with programmes culminating in a Dark Sky festival in the summer (in colder climates). There is also a focus on International Dark Sky Week, which takes place during the new moon in April. The Grand Canyon in northwestern Arizona has around 5 million visitors each year, many of whom come to see the night sky, and presents perhaps the greatest example of raising public awareness of the values of the natural night sky.
During summer, in California’s Yosemite National Park, amateur astronomy clubs from the Bay Area set up telescopes and host star parties almost every Friday night, weather permitting. These fantastic, public stargazing sessions are held at the Glacier Point Amphitheater, one of the most scenic places on the planet. Rangers also offer astronomy night walks in the valley. Death Valley, one of the world’s largest Dark Sky refuges, is an all-seasons stargazing destination with an annual dark sky festival in March, at which NASA scientists give talks on and tours of the geological wonders of the park. Both Wood Buffalo and Jasper national parks in Alberta, Canada, hold Dark Sky festivals – in August and October respectively – during which it is possible to view the Northern Lights.
Many national parks in Europe run stargazing programmes. In England several national parks organize a joint festival in February or March with events in the Yorkshire Dales, Northumberland, North York Moors and the South Downs. Hortobágy in Hungary and Poloniny in Slovenia are both designated Dark Sky parks. In the Canaries, Teide National Park in Tenerife and Caldera de Taburiente National Park in La Palma are popular both with individual stargazers and groups arranged by local astrotourism companies.
In the southern hemisphere, Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park in the heart of Australia’s outback offers astronomy talks and stargazing on most weekends. Warrumbungle National Park in New South Wales, home to the Sliding Spring Observatory and host of many stargazing tours and events, is also the location of OZSky StarSafari, held twice a year in March to April and September to October.
Death Valley National Park, California USA
One of the world’s largest Dark Sky parks, Death Valley presents a natural night sky just a few hours drive from heavily light-polluted Las Vegas and Los Angeles. The remote Racetrack Playa pictured here offers welcome respite from the punishing heat of the day. One of the mysterious Sailing Stones for which the area is known sits beneath the rising summer Milky Way. A geological curiosity, these stones move naturally along the smooth, high-altitude valley floor, transported on very thin night-time surface ice sheets that are driven by wind.
12 Apostles National Park, Victoria AUSTRALIA
Above the Southern Ocean and beneath an ocean of stars on the Great Ocean Road, a brilliant fireball (bright meteor) lights up the sky in the 12 Apostles National Park. The southern Milky Way and Magellanic Clouds are visible in the sky, and limestone rock formations are illuminated by the setting moon. From this vantage point looking south, there is no landmass between the viewer and Antarctica, just the immense Southern Ocean. Standing here leaves you feeling connected to the planet, embraced by the entire universe.
Riisitunturi National Park, Lapland FINLAND
A vibrant green aurora flashes in the clear night sky behind the tykky sculptures, or ‘frozen’ trees, in Riisitunturi National Park. Located at 66 degrees north, close to the Arctic Circle, the park’s forests are well known for these surreal-looking snow-covered trees. During winter in Lapland, the northernmost region of Finland, snow accumulation ranges from 60–90 cm (23–35 in).
Banff National Park, Alberta CANADA
The star trails captured in this long-exposure image were formed during the course of one hour of Earth’s rotation. A couple of satellites can also be seen at the top left of the image. The mountains are illuminated by the moon, while the yellow glow on the horizon comes from the long-lasting twilight of this high-latitude summer night – after the sunset here, the sun’s path remains close to the horizon. The World Heritage site of Banff National Park is around 2,000 m (6,000 ft) above sea level. Pictured here is Peyto Lake, one of the region’s main attractions.
Yosemite National Park, California CALIFORNIA
Yosemite has inspired numerous artists, writers and environmentalists, not least legendary landscape photographer Ansel Adams. Here, the stars of Orion are set in the crystal-clear sky above a river in the Sierra Nevada mountains, captured in a cold after-midnight moment in January. The three aligned stars of Orion’s belt and the Orion Nebula are near the centre of the image. Above is the orange star Betelgeuse, one of the ten brightest in the night sky. Most surprising, however, is the appearance of the elusive Rosette Nebula in the upper centre. Under dark skies, this is bright enough to be glimpsed through a small telescope using a wide-field eyepiece. Its distinctive pink-red colour is invisible to the human eye, as we are almost colour blind in low light. At a distance of over 5,000 light years away, the Rosette Nebula is 130 light years wide – more than 50,000 times wider than the entire solar system’s planetary boundary.
Crater Lake National Park, Oregon USA
Our home galaxy, the Milky Way, arcs above the 10 km (6 mile) wide Crater Lake in northwestern America. Constellations Ursa Major (the Big Bear) and Ursa Minor (the Little Bear) are to the far left of the image, while W-shaped Cassiopeia is visible at the beginning of the arc. The bright star Deneb and the notable red North America Nebula are in the upper centre. To their right is Altair, the next bright star along the Milky Way. Above the crater to the right of the image is the brightest region of the Milky Way – the central bulge. The bright star to the right of the Milky Way is Antares at the heart of constellation Scorpius (the Scorpion).
Organ Pipe Cactus NM, Arizona USA
The cactus knows no borders. The Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument is a UNESCO biosphere reserve in southern Arizona, with territory that continues into the Mexican state of Sonora. It is the only place in the United States where the organ pipe cactus grows wild. The green ‘clouds’ visible in the sky are airglow, caused by natural emissions in Earth’s upper atmosphere. The yellow-orange glow is light pollution coming from the city of Phoenix in the north, some 160 km (100 miles) away. The rising band of the Milky Way also appears in this after-midnight-hour May sky.
NEAR THE LIGHTS
Countless adventures await those who stay awake to experience the night. Like explorers of the unseen, stargazers enjoy views that most people miss as they sleep or spend nights under the starless skies of the cities. From most places on our planet there is at least some hint of artificial light on the horizon, but even near these lights are plenty of celestial wonders to see.
In satellite maps of Earth at night, some of the most populated areas on the planet, such as western Europe, appear to be totally dominated by artificial light, but dark spots do exist within these regions. These include naturally protected areas and mountainous regions. Bavaria in southern Germany and the Alps in Austria, Italy, Switzerland and France are examples of locations with relatively dark sky areas in highly populated areas.
Destinations surrounded by bright areas include the Westhavelland Nature Park, just 100 km (60 miles) west of Berlin, and South Downs National Park, a similar distance from London, in England. The British Isles has more than a dozen international Dark Sky places. Thanks to lower populations and large natural areas, both Northern Ireland and northern Scotland remain Dark Sky refuges where it is possible to see the Northern Lights on the horizon during high geomagnetic activity. Some 200 to 300 km (130 to 200 miles) west of London, almost all of Wales has active Dark Sky communities, with Snowdonia, Elan Valley and Brecon among the best-known. In southwest England, Exmoor National Park was Europe’s first designated Dark Sky Reserve. Two small British isles enjoy a Dark Sky Community designation: Coll in northwest Scotland and Sark, less than 40 km (25 miles) from the coast of Normandy, in the English Channel. The latter has no cars or public lighting. The favourable stargazing seasons in the United Kingdom are from February to April and late summer.
Bavaria GERMANY
Neuschwanstein Castle sits on a hill-top in the Bavarian Alps, possibly the most iconic of 20,000 or so castles and palaces in Germany. It was built in the nineteenth century, as a home for the eccentric King Ludwig II. The king was obsessed with artistic and architectural projects and spent all his royal revenue on unusual castles such as this.
In less than one hour of total exposure, Earth’s rotation creates star trails around the North Geomagnetic Pole. Light rays from the castle scatter in the sky and are typical of the light pollution seen at the world’s most heavily lit monuments.
Kilimanjaro TANZANIA
This single, long-exposure photograph, lasting the entire night and taken using a custom-made panoramic film camera shows star trails around the South Celestial Pole. It was captured very close to the equator on the high-altitude slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. The altitude of the pole in the sky is equal to the latitude of the location, making this equatorial region the only place on land where the celestial poles are located right at the horizon. The lights of Moshi, the capital of the Kilimanjaro region, appear to the right of the image, reflected by the haze and layers of fog.
Bavaria GERMANY
A starry summer sky above Lake Königssee is embraced by the Bavarian Alps in southern Germany. Most of the lake is within the Berchtesgaden National Park, close to the Austrian border. Despite its distance of just 25 km (15 miles) from Salzburg, the high altitude of the area and obstruction of the horizon by the mountains provides a Dark Sky refuge, especially when looking south, as here. Along the Milky Way is the small constellation Scutum (the Shield). It doesn’t have any bright star, but a dense star cluster known as the Wild Duck Cluster (M11) appears as a single star top centre of the image, on the edge of a brighter patch of the Milky Way known as the Scutum Star Cloud. Looking in this direction, we are facing the next spiral arm of the Milky Way, inward from our own, at a distance of 6,000 light years.
Ibaraki JAPAN
Taken at midnight in May, in Oarai, Ibaraki prefecture, this photograph sees a last-quarter moon rising with the Milky Way above the Pacific Ocean, Japan. Just like a rising or setting sun, the moon on the horizon is reddened by atmospheric refraction, as light has to pass through a thicker cut of the atmosphere in order to reach the viewer. At the centre is an iconic torii, the traditional Japanese gate commonly found at the entrance to a Shinto shrine, where it symbolically marks the transition from the profane to the sacred. In the sky, bright star Altair is at the centre of the image with Deneb in Cygnus (the Swan) top left.
County Antrim NORTHERN IRELAND
In the early evening on the northeast coast of Ireland, a lone stargazer enjoys the dazzling light of planet Venus, the second-brightest object in the Earth sky after the moon. In the foreground is the World Heritage site of the Giant’s Causeway, an area of around 40,000 interlocking basalt columns formed during a volcanic eruption 60 million years ago. Near the top of the image is the Pleiades star cluster (the Seven Sisters). Venus is surrounded by a halo, known as a corona. This atmospheric phenomenon can form around the sun, moon and bright planets, and occurs when small water droplets or tiny ice crystals in cloud diffract the light.
REMOTE
To travel somewhere truly remote is to experience the purest and the most peaceful darkness. Only in such places is it possible to enjoy the absolute silence of the night, surrounded and astounded by the wonders of the celestial arena above. It is in these places that you feel a profound sense of connection to the universe as you appreciate our planet’s place in this great cosmic ocean.
The more remote destinations offer the clearest views of the Milky Way and provide an excellent perspective of our place in the universe, inside this massive spiral galaxy, a cosmic island of an estimated 100 to 400 billion stars. Our galaxy is 100,000 light years across but only 1,000 light years thick. That’s like having a traditional thin-crust pizza measuring 2 m (8 ft) in diameter! We live inside this disc, so our view of it is seen side on, as a thick stream of stars, gas and dust strewn across the sky.
One spectacular way to see the night sky as you have never seen it before is to look for a remote destination in the opposite hemisphere to the one in which you live. Even seasoned astronomers and nightscape photographers have been overwhelmed seeing the northern or the southern sky for the first time. Familiar constellations appear upside down and you are forced to navigate the sky afresh. There are also constellations that you will never have seen before, such as Crux (the Southern Cross) in the southern hemisphere and Ursa Major (the Big Bear) and Ursa Minor (the Little Bear) in the northern hemisphere.
Coromandel Peninsula NEW ZEALAND
Most people visit Cathedral Cove natural monument in the daytime, but for stargazers the show begins after dark. Those familiar with a northern hemisphere sky will see that Orion appears upside down above the giant sea stack to the left of the image. Following the band of the Milky Way to the right, bright star Sirius appears near the top. Further right, again at the top, is the bright star Canopus. Beside a fast-moving ‘Earthly’ cloud to the upper right of the image are the Magellanic Clouds. Cathedral Cove is an important marine reserve in New Zealand’s Mercury Bay, known for its rich reefs and coastal life. In this panorama, the electric blue patches on the ocean are in fact the bioluminescent activity of plankton. The monument is known locally as Whanganui A Hei (the Great Bay of Hei), named after a priest named Hei, who first laid claim to the area at the time of the Polynesian migration to New Zealand in the mid-fourteenth century.
Réunion SOUTH INDIAN OCEAN
Standing on this French island at night gives a real sense that the ocean dominates more than two-thirds of the planet’s surface. Pictured left is a rock formation known as Le Gouffre. Above it, the galaxy band runs vertically over the southern horizon in the September sky. Pictured on the right is a night in May. The central core of the Milky Way rises later in the night at this time of year and is photographed from inside a cave on the west coast of Réunion. Next to the galactic bulge, prominently visible in both photos, is the bright star Antares, the alpha star in Scorpius, marking the scorpion’s heart. The name derives from an ancient rival of the Greek god Ares (Roman Mars), thought to derive from the fact that Antares is orange in colour and could be mistaken for the planet Mars. In fact Antares is a red supergiant near the end of its life. It is so huge that, were it placed at the centre of the solar system, its form would extend beyond the orbit of Mars.
Annapurna range NEPAL
The city of Pokhara, in Nepal, has magnificent views of the 7–8,000 m (23–26,000 ft) peaks of the Himalayan Annapurna Massif. On a clear, dark night such as this, away from city lights, the vision is even more surreal. To the right of the image is artificial light emanating from Pokhara. Using a camera modified for astrophotography, which reveals more of the red end of the light spectrum, several red emission nebulae appear along the faint band of autumn Milky Way in constellations Auriga (centre), Perseus (higher), Cassiopeia and Cepheus (upper left). Natural airglow from Earth’s upper atmosphere is responsible for the red glow above the peaks (see here).
Femundsmarka NP NORWAY
The many remote natural reserves of Norway still offer star-filled skies. Here, close to the Swedish border on a September night in Femundsmarka National Park, a fireball (bright meteor) breaks into the calm, peaceful sky. On the shore of Lake Femund, the second-largest natural lake in the country, the camera looks north with the seven stars of the Big Dipper (in Ursa Major) taking centre stage. There is the faint glow of a town on the horizon, shining on the low clouds. The meteor belongs to the lesser-seen September Epsilon Perseids meteor shower, which usually peaks at just ten meteors per hour.
Victoria AUSTRALIA
The Milky Way and Venus are about to set in a pristine sky over central Victoria on this October evening. Venus is almost aligned with the galactic centre and resembles a bright supernova in our galaxy – a phenomenon that has not been seen for more than 400 years.
WORLD OBSERVATORIES
There are more than 500 astronomical observatories worldwide, and many more amateur and public observatories equipped with smaller telescopes. Many of the world’s historical observatories, such as Greenwich in London, the Paris Observatory, Harvard College in Massachusetts and Yerkes in Wisconsin are now surrounded by city light and their equipment is outdated. These places now serve as museums and research centres, as well as functioning as administration offices for astronomers who use robotic telescopes in space or in distant corners of the planet. A few historic observatories have been upgraded to continue leading-edge research, and these include Mount Wilson on the outskirts of Los Angeles, California, or Pic du Midi in the French Pyrenees (pictured above).
Some of the world’s major modern observatories are located within national parks and nature reserves, their presence serving to secure long-term protection of the dark sky above them. The IDA’s Dark Sky Sanctuaries initiative relates perfectly to these sites which preserve the most pristine night skies on the planet, whether atop dormant volcanoes in the Hawaiian islands or crowning high peaks in the Atacama Desert, the Canary Islands and the southwestern United States. These sites are not only selected for their great distances from city lights, they also happen to be perched up high, on isolated mountains. Although seashores and flat desert plains are popular stargazing destinations, astronomers do not favour them. The ideal observatory site has dark skies, a large percentage of clear nights per year, dry air, unobstructed views of the horizon and steady air conditions. Above all, it benefits from a high elevation where the atmosphere is thinner, thereby minimizing the effects of atmospheric extinction and turbulence. Such conditions offer the best astronomical ‘seeing’ and increased resolving power for giant telescopes. Moreover, at high altitudes, the atmosphere absorbs less infrared light, which is critical for viewing the most distant celestial objects – from the evolution of the universe itself to the clouds of gas and dust that give birth to stars and planets.
Pic du Midi FRANCE
This panoramic view of the Milky Way band rising on a June evening was taken from the Pic du Midi Observatory, on a remote peak in the Pyrenees mountains at an altitude of 2,877 m (9,440 ft). Accessible only by cable car, the observatory is located within the Pic du Midi Dark Sky Reserve, which spans the Pyrenees National Park and the Mont Perdu World Heritage site. Construction of the observatory began in 1878, when the mountain nightscape was free from artificial skyglow. Today, the light pollution of Tarbes, a town of 40,000 population just 30 km (20 miles) to the north (left in this image) is the main source of skyglow, followed by the much larger Toulouse (centre) at a distance of 130 km (80 miles). In the south (to the right of the image), the lack of any large city in the Spanish Pyrenees provides darker sky. Even on the French side, the light pollution reduces significantly at midnight when, due to a nationwide energy-saving law, many outdoor lights dim or switch off.
Los Angeles, California USA
The 150 cm (60 in) telescope at the Mount Wilson Observatory near Los Angeles is pointed towards Jupiter on a public observation night. This is one of the world’s largest publicly accessible telescopes, and one that people can rent to observe the night sky. The telescope had its ‘first light’ in 1908, at which time it was the world’s largest operational telescope. It was at Mount Wilson that Edwin Hubble proved the existence of galaxies beyond the Milky Way and later discovered the expansion of the universe.
Atacama Desert CHILE
Astronomers observe the centre of the Milky Way using the laser guide star facility of the Very Large Telescope (VLT), a group of four 8 m (26 ft) giant telescopes on Cerro Paranal mountain, one of the world’s finest sites for astronomical observations. The telescopes use advanced laser technology to significantly reduce the natural blurring effects of Earth’s atmosphere to allow sharper images of long-distance objects.
La Palma, Canary Islands SPAIN
A long-exposure image of star trails from the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory at an altitude of 2,400 m (7,900 ft) on the island of La Palma. The stars are reflected in one of the 17 m (56 ft) diameter MAGIC telescopes. These multi-mirrored detectors are not typical telescopes. They observe cosmic gamma rays by detecting brief flashes of optical light, called Cherenkov light, and allow scientists to explore such phenomena as black holes, solar flares, supernovae and neutron stars.
Western Australia AUSTRALIA
The southern night sky appears above the Murchison Widefield Array radio telescope antennas. Further than 800 km (500 miles) from Perth, the capital of Western Australia, in the remote Australian outback, more than 2,000 antennas are spread in groups across 3 sq km (1.2 sq miles). Even the faintest cosmic radio waves can be detected in this radio-silent area and the night sky is also extremely dark, giving spectacular views of the cosmos.
Maunakea, Hawaii USA
This starry sky at the break of dawn appears over two giant telescopes at Mauna Kea Observatory. At 4,200 m (13,800 ft) high, this summit is the highest point in Hawaii and the entire Pacific Ocean. A dormant volcano, Maunakea is 10,200 m (33,500 ft) tall when measured from its base on the ocean floor to its peak. Gemini North (foreground) is an 8 m (26 ft) telescope. The Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT) is in the background. In the upper right of the image, the elongated halo of the Andromeda Galaxy (M31) is visible next to the faint band of the Milky Way. Maunakea peak is a popular destination for tourists, from sunrise to sunset, but is closed to visitors at night due to high-altitude hazards and the effect of car lights on the telescopes. Stargazers can enjoy the night sky from the more temperate altitude of the visitors’ centre at 3,000 m (9,000 ft). In fact, human eyes see more stars from this level due to the increased oxygen sought by the brain and the retina.