I grew up in the country – back in the long gone days when evenings were dark. Back then, homes and businesses and streets didn’t have dusk to dawn lighting like they do today – so the night skies were much more brilliant to see. Sitting out on the porch or in the yard on clear evenings to watch the stars was fascinating, because the natural darkness made the millions of twinkling sky lights gloriously spectacular to view….
…So, I have enjoyed stargazing since I was a child. I am always in awe of the many beauties and blessings God created for us to enjoy, and the night skies are one of those lovely wonders.
Last year, I was on vacation in Moab, Utah when I first heard about an organization called DarkSky International. This organization is a U.S. based non profit dedicated to restoring the nighttime environment, as much as realistically possible, through advocacy and conservation efforts…allowing people to travel and view and enjoy the stars in their full beauty. The organization certifies light-protected areas as “International Dark Sky Places” when strict guidelines are met.
Arches National Park in Moab offers a “Stargaze with a Ranger” program on summer evenings – and the program descriptions shared at the Arches Visitor Center made it sound incredibly amazing! On a clear night, the views of stars, planets, the Milky Way, etc. are apparently just mesmerizing. Unfortunately, since I visited in March, I was unable to attend one of the evening programs.
Within the over 3 million square miles of our 48 contiguous states, there are currently only 142 certified “dark sky” places in our country. Most of them (of course) are located in the western states where urban areas are limited and skies are already unaffected by city lights. However, I recently learned that there are a few certified dark sky viewing locations in some other states (see map below)….including one in my home state of Arkansas!
At Tyler Bend Visitor Center on the Buffalo River, the “Experience the Night Skies” program is offered every Saturday from late May to late July. This past Saturday, a couple of friends and I drove down for the presentation.
We arrived just before 9:00 p.m. and parked in the darkened parking lot. Red reflector style lights were in place on the ground to help visitors safely reach the visitor center. After we were all seated inside (there were about 20 people in attendance), Ranger Rory Lindbergh spent about 30 minutes teaching us about what we would be seeing. The room was darkened to allow our eyes to prepare to see the brilliance of the night skies. After the presentation, we had a short break then reconvened outside by the telescope the ranger had set up. Ranger Rory waited a bit to begin the program, to allow our eyes to adjust even more to the dark so that we could better view the skies. (Human eyes take about 20-30 minutes to reach maximum adaptation to darkness.) Then, he enthusiastically taught us about all that we were seeing – pointing out specific stars, constellations, the Milky Way, etc. When a specific star was discussed, we would then take turns viewing it in the telescope.
The presentation was fascinating and informative – but the starry skies were definitely the shining star (no pun intended) of the evening. I wish I could have photographed the beauty to share here- but every picture I took fell so far short of what we were seeing with the naked eye. It was definitely worth driving to Tyler Bend to experience.
If you live in Arkansas, consider checking it out! If you don’t, you can use the “Dark Sky Place” finder to locate an area near you, if interested!
There is now an annual Arkansas Dark-Sky Festival! This year, it is scheduled for September 26th – 28th at the Buffalo River International DarkSky park.
This picture of the night sky as seen from Tyler Bend was taken by Allen Staib and posted on the National Park Service website.
Information on Tyler Bend’s “Experience your Night Skies
Information from the National Park Service on the Buffalo River’s Night Sky Viewing
The dark sky is one of the things that I really miss from the past.
Thank you for this piece.
Gerald
Thank you for sharing!
Lisa, I really enjoyed your latest blog. I also remember the dark sky’s of yesteryears but it sounds like it was even more awesome where you visited. Thanks
I think back on night time fishing (for catfish) and hunting (for coons) and very early getting to my deer stand. You could look up in the darkness and see billions of stars. Sometimes I would just stop and think “God made every one of those and still knows how many hairs I have on my head. WOW!” The bright lights of Branson and all those big cities just don’t compare. Too bad many of those city folks never see such a sight. I’m sure glad God made me a hillbilly instead.