Dark Sky Park

Congratulations to Scotland for having the forethought to celebrate the International Year of Astronomy (IYA), marking the 400th anniversary of Galileo’s telescope with Galloway Forest Park announcing its plans to become Europe’s first “dark sky park.”

The Bldgblog reports that the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA) web site contains everything that "locations with exceptional nightscapes" need to know to submit their application to be certified as "International Dark Sky Communities (IDSC), International Dark Sky Parks (IDSP), and International Dark Sky Reserves (IDSR).” Currently, there is only one dark-sky community in the world (Flagstaff, AZ), and just two dark-sky parks (the first, Natural Bridges National Monument in Utah, and the slightly less well-known Cherry Springs State Park in northern Pennsylvania). There are no actual reserves yet; indeed, the concept is still being thrashed out in partnership with UNESCO (who issued their own Starlight Reserve framework in 2007).

  

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