Becoming An Urban Night Sky Place

by Jesze Doleh

Beauty can be found all over the world in a variety of places and times including not only during the day, but also at night. While many people may not think about the value of nighttime skies, wildlife, and resources, they are as important as those during the day. With this in mind, many places and people are working to protect their night skies.

Our Journey 

In 2021, Thousand Hills State Park in Kirksville, Missouri began its journey to become an Urban Night Sky Place. It started with a conversation between the park superintendent and some Truman State University students and faculty. Determining the most appropriate certification and submitting an inquiry form began what would be a three year process to get certified. The application involved gathering letters of support, working to update management plans, submitting sky readings, changing light fixtures, starting programming, and more. 

What are Dark Sky Places? 

International Dark Sky Places are places around the world that are actively working to preserve the night sky through education and responsible lighting. DarkSky International has five types of certifications; International Dark Sky Sanctuaries, International Dark Sky Reserves, International Dark Sky Parks, International Dark Sky Communities, and Urban Night Sky Places. The certification Thousand Hills State Park worked towards is an Urban Night Sky Place. An Urban Night Sky Place certification can be applied for by any place that is promoting nighttime experiences even though they are near an urban environment. 

Our Certification

Upon receiving our certification in September 2024, Thousand Hills State Park became the 12th Urban Night Sky Place in the world, 2nd in Missouri, and 1st for Missouri State Parks. This marks the work the park has been doing and will continue to do to protect the night skies. The certification also marks Thousand Hills as a place for astrotourism and a place to educate the local community on ways they can be better night sky advocates. 

Importance 

Becoming an Urban Night Sky Place is about much more than the certification. The work to get there supports a better overall natural landscape for wildlife (and people), which aligns directly with our state park mission. When there is too much light, it impacts the circadian rhythm of people and animals, as well as the migration of animals, such as birds and sea turtles. The solution to light pollution is one we can all help mitigate. The solution does not have to be turning off or eliminating all light. While that would eliminate light pollution, we aim to educate people on the best ways to use only what is needed. DarkSky International has put together five principles to responsible outdoor lighting where it focuses on lights that are useful, targeted, low level, controlled, and warm-colored. With these actions, we can all work to help protect the night skies, create safer spaces, and save money. 

Starting Programming 

There are beautiful night skies everywhere, and we as interpreters have the power to help protect them. To get started in your area you simply need a night sky and interpretive resources. Programs can be minimal or include tools such as planispheres, laser pointers, and telescopes. You do not need to be a night sky expert to share the beauty of the night sky and facilitate connections with guests. Alongside interpretation around the night sky, find those calls to action, such as using light responsibly and emphasizing the way small actions are impactful around light pollution. People and animals benefit when we work to be responsible users of light. In this case, it is best to not be the light! 

For More Information

For more information about International Dark Skies: https://www.darksky.org/ 

To find a designated dark sky place: https://www.darksky.org/our-work/conservation/idsp/finder/ 

For more information about responsible lighting: https://www.darksky.org/our-work/lighting/ 

A few more Dark Sky links of interest

(from Board member and past Chair, DarkSky Missouri, Vayujeet Gokhale, Professor of Physics, Truman State University)

Vayu spoke at the CFM General Assembly, his slides are included in the highlighted link below

• Request a presentation or demonstration etc: https://www.darkskymissouri.org/get-involved/request-a-program-or-talk

• Campus SHINE workshop materials (slides, and user manuals for some of the above mentioned instruments: https://www.campusshine.org/aas245.html

• SOME ACTIVITIES AT BOTTOM OF PAGE More resources (user guides, and recent talks etc. and more!): https://darksky.truman.edu/campus-resources/ 

• DarkSky approved products: https://darksky.org/what-we-do/darksky-approved/luminaires/