Nathan Dupre – Page 8 – Ivins Night Sky

Seeing Our Night Sky Through Fresh Young Eyes

Juniper McCowan, a Grade 8 student at Vista School in Ivins is the First-Place winner in an art competition for the best interpretation of the night sky over Ivins, sponsored by the Ivins Night Sky Initiative.

Her painting celebrates the beauty and wonderment of the night sky that we can still enjoy. We are fortunate. Nearly 80 percent of North Americans cannot see the Milky Way due to light pollution.

The judge selected this painting because, “This is a solid composition with an imaginative and logical interpretation of the night sky. The painting is well crafted and unified with a nice handling of art material. Strong contrast draws the viewer in.”

But this is much more than just a student art competition…

This is much more than just an art competition because we will feature the winning artwork in our community outreach in an effort to get Ivins designated as a Dark Sky Community.

That way, through their art, these students will remind all of us in the community about the wonder, enchantment, and importance of the night sky and why it is so important to preserve this amazing asset.

The Judge

The students’ art was judged by Steven Stradley, the Visual Arts Instructor at Tuacahn High School. Steven is a professional artist and maintains an active studio. He is also represented at A Gallery Fine Art in Salt Lake City and exhibits nationally.

Award Day

Juniper McCowan won First Place in the student art competition.

Other Winners

2^nd Place – Faith Olson, 8^th Grade: The judge said, “This is an example of great use of mixed media. The painting is excellently crafted with very good control of material. It is a strong composition with the little slice of the landscape below. The complex use of material creates a beautiful and unified message.”

3rd Place – Acelin Smith, 8^th Grade: Steven noted that, “This artwork is imaginative with original imagery. I love the idea of looking into the night sky and playing games, like seeing a whale. Constellations are found this way. It is an excellent interpretation of the night sky and you bring clarity to your concept.” (Note: The constellation Cetus is a sea monster in Greek mythology, although it is often called ‘the whale’ today.)

Merit Award – Orion Hansen, 8^th Grade: “This is a well-crafted image reflecting the density of the stars and the universe. The painting is complex and solid in its execution,” said the judge.

Merit Award – Emmalani Gent, 6^th Grade: Steven commented that, “This is a well composed image that reflects a great night sky in our area. Great shapes and gradients are used to create a compelling image.”

What can you do to help maintain our beautiful night sky?

Use shielded outdoor fixtures
Install timers and motion-sensors
Use lower rated bulbs
Use “warmer” bulbs – look for 2700k or lower on packages

Contact us and tell us you support our efforts, share your ideas, and volunteer to help improve, preserve, and protect the night sky over Ivins.

Do We Have Community Support?

One of the requirements to get designated as a “Dark Sky Community” is demonstrating broad community support. So we would appreciate a letter of support from you. Send it from our “Contact page” page.

What should I say?

Start with a first paragraph similar to this: I strongly endorse and support the efforts of the Ivins Night Sky Initiative in the pursuit of a Dark Sky Community designation for Ivins City from the International Dark Sky Association.

Then add a second paragraph explaining why it is important to you to improve, protect, and preserve the night sky over Ivins.

Finally, include your name and address (or subdivision or HOA name). We will not display your address or email on our website.

Here are some examples:

Kai Reed – Kayenta

I was very excited to find out a local group has been formed to pursue the International Dark Sky Association’s (IDSA) Night Sky Community designation. I’ve lived in Ivins for almost 21 years and have sadly seen the degradation to our night skies which is why I strongly endorse and support the efforts of the Ivins Night Sky Initiative to pursue the Dark Sky Community designation for Ivins City. Ivins has long promoted itself as a destination community and a Night Sky Community designation would most certainly enhance that reputation.

I think Ivins has the best potential of any community in Washington County to become a Night Sky Community. We already have one large development, Kayenta, which has adopted a comprehensive night sky policy and Ivins City itself already has a night sky ordinance that can be enhanced and expanded to meet IDSA guidelines. In addition, we are surrounded on three sides by a national conservation and wilderness area, the Shivwits Indian Reservation and the Santa Clara River Reserve so the majority of all future development that could impact our night sky will be within Ivins City where we will have the opportunity under the Night Sky Initiative to mitigate the light pollution that threatens our night skies.

Having had a leadership role in local community advocacy groups (Citizens for Dixie’s Future, Friends of Snow Canyon and Southern Utah Bicycle Alliance) I know and appreciate how critical citizen involvement is in making positive improvements to our community. I hope to contribute in any way I can to support the Ivins Night Sky Initiative.

Marc and Chrystal Deshowitz – Eagle Rock

As residents of Ivins, My wife and myself strongly endorse and support the efforts of the Ivins Night Sky Initiative in the pursuit of Dark Sky Community designation for Ivins City from the International Dark Sky Association.

I have been a night sky advocate for the past 7 years and have been involved in educating the general public in both Nevada and Utah concerning the detrimental effects of light pollution and the health benefits of reduced lighting. My wife and myself have also spearheaded efforts to implement the retrofitting of our community lighting to be compliant with the Ivins Night Sky Ordinance.

We believe that our community benefits from being able to view the night sky and be able to ponder our existence and help us place all of our worries into perspective.

Ron Levandoski – Ivins

As a resident of Ivins, my wife and I are indeed in favor of maintaining the dark skies here in Ivins. So I strongly endorse and support the efforts of the Ivins Night Sky Initiative in the pursuit of Dark Sky Community designation for Ivins City from the International Dark Sky Association.

My wife and I think that it is important to preserve the wonders of the night sky for the future of our families. My introduction to astronomy at eight years of age led to an intense interest in science and a career in the healthcare field. I that hope in the future other kids can gaze at the heavens as I did and that this can spark an intellectual interest as it did for me.

I am an amateur astronomer with an observatory in my back yard that I use for astrophotography. The sky in Ivins has become increasingly polluted in the past five years to the point that it is significantly impacting my hobby. Light pollution that obliterates dimmer stars needs to be controlled before a valuable irreplaceable natural resource is lost forever.

I applaud your efforts to try to save what is left. Let me know what I can do to help.

CJ Koharcheck – Padre Canyon

As a resident of Ivins, I am indeed in favor of maintaining the dark skies here in Ivins. So I strongly endorse and support the efforts of the Ivins Night Sky Initiative in the pursuit of Dark Sky Community designation for Ivins City from the International Dark Sky Association.

I just went through the website, and it looks great! I’m glad to see the quantitative measurements. I’m already on your list of people who think this is important and are willing to help, but I wanted to give you a shout-out for all the good work you are doing!

Chris Haddad – Shadow Canyon

This is fantastic! As a resident of Ivins, I strongly endorse and support the efforts of the Ivins Night Sky Initiative in the pursuit of Dark Sky Community designation for Ivins City from the International Dark Sky Association.

Your Position Paper touches upon so many of the reasons why I up and moved from California to Ivins. I had read about the St. George area and decided to take a road trip to check it out. I looked out over St George from my hotel and thought what a beautiful picture that was and so many stars. (In California, I didn’t see a lot of stars).

As I turned to look out towards Ivins, I realized how much darker it was out there and seemed to have more stars too! So, I got back in my car and drove back out to that same spot (boy, it was really dark out there) except for the unbelievable sky full of stars. Unbelievable sunset and dark sky full of stars all in one day, that did it. I told myself that night I was going to retire here. After almost 40 years in Law Enforcement I deserved to spend the rest of my life in the peace and beauty of this place. Every night I lay in bed and look out my window and fall asleep looking at the most beautiful sky full of stars. How’s that for peace and beauty!

James & Brenda Peters – Citadel Estates

As a resident of Ivins, I strongly endorse and support the efforts of the Ivins Night Sky Initiative in the pursuit of Dark Sky Community designation for Ivins City from the International Dark Sky Association.

One of the things that impressed me most about the home that we purchased in Ivins just a year and a half ago is that we can walk out in our back yard and see the stars shining without the interference of light pollution. I have a dear friend in Ivins who has worked in astronomy all of his career and we have conversations about the night sky all of the time. Almost every night that I am there we study the constellations, planets etc. I use this information as I teach in the Boy Scout Organization. I have been a Boy Scout Leader for over 50 years. I sincerely hope that the City of Ivins will continue in the pursuit of the Dark Sky Community designation.

Dow & Stacy Williams – Vermillion Cliffs

As our county continues to grow and welcome newcomers, I feel it has become even more important that the city of Ivins remain committed to its connection with the natural beauty that brought many of us here in the first place. In the frenetic pace of life, a jewel as rare as this place must be preserved for future residents as well as for those who have called Ivins home for generations.

Dan Krupicka – Kayenta

Thanks for bringing the issue of dark skies here to the fore, and the time and energy you are willing to put into the issue. As a resident of the nearby Kayenta subdivision for the last 24 years, I have come to take for granted the dark night skies of the area. You can imagine how dark it was here 20 years ago. However, I have noticed diffuse background illumination encroaching from the east and southeast, much of which I would guess originates in St. George, and have begun to wonder how long the dark skies will be with us here on the far west side of the rapidly developing St. George basin and Ivins Bench.

Activity Update: January 2019

Here’s an update of what happened in January:

The Initiative launched on January 8th with this website and a 4-page position paper emailed to people who previously expressed an interest in protecting the night sky.

The launch got coverage from St. George News, The Independent, KDXU, and FOX 13. The Spectrum also covered the Initiative in a detailed article a couple of days ago after interviewing Mayor Hart.

We met with the Mayor to discuss, generally, the outdoor lighting ordinance changes the International Dark Sky Association requires, then met with City staff to get their input.

Chris Haddad presented the position paper to about 50 members of the Shadow Canyon HOA.

Ron Smith, a local astronomer and educator, briefly mentioned the Initiative at his January Voyager Lecture at the Kayenta Arts Foundation.

Eva Lorentzen, the Art Teacher at Vista School, began a student art competition for 6th through 8th grade art students this week. The art will be judged by Steven Stradley, the Visual Arts Instructor at Tuacahn High School, and awards and cash prizes for the best interpretation of the night sky will be announced on February 12th. See: Student Art Contest Starts Today

We published an outdoor lighting report and recommendation, Shedding Light on Outdoor LED Choices and looked up specifications for 30 LEDs available on Amazon to get the definitive answer about Comparing Lumens to Watts in Incandescent Bulbs

We created a first draft of proposed changes to the City’s outdoor lighting ordinance yesterday and sent it to the Mayor and staff for review and comments.

We began an inventory of City-owned outdoor lighting by driving around the city, counting and photographing existing lighting to determine where to determine how much lighting already meets the International Dark Sky Association’s requirements. (City-Owned Street Lighting Study: Part 1)

If we didn’t mention something you did to advance the mission of this Initiative, please tell us. And if you would like to get involved in any of these projects or other projects we plan to start working on soon, let us know. And let us know about any ideas you have for other projects. We need all the help and expertise we can get. Send us an email from the Contact us page.

Revising the Outdoor Lighting Ordinance: Update

We completed a first draft of a revised outdoor lighting ordinance today that meets the requirements of the International Dark Sky Association (IDA) and distributed the draft to the Mayor and City staff for their review and comment.

In addition to recommending changes to comply with IDA requirements, we identified issues where we believe the City should do some research before committing to certain changes. Here are two examples:

(1) IDA requires communities to set a limit on the total amount of lumens generated by outdoor lighting on a property. IDA does not set what that limit should be. We listed limits other communities have adopted. However, we recommended researching a sample of existing properties in the City to find out their total lumen output and use that as a guide for setting limits.

(2) IDA requires that city-owned lighting be brought into compliance with its new regulations within five years. For some time now, Ivins has had a plan of replacing poor city-owned outdoor lighting. However, we recommended continuing the research we began this past week, the City-Owned Street Lighting Study: Part 1, where we inventoried all existing outdoor city-owned lighting. The next step should be to determine which lights would need to be replaced or retrofitted to meet IDA requirements and determine the cost for that work. That way, the City will be able to determine if it can realistically budget for those changes within the 5-year limit.

During December we completed a review of ordinances from nine communities that meet the requirements of the IDA. The ordinances contained a number of good ideas, separate from IDA requirements, that we recommend the City consider including in its ordinance as well. However, that should be “step 2.” Step 1 is reaching conclusions on the IDA requirements that were incorporated into the draft ordinance submitted today.

Student Art Contest Starts Today

The Ivins Night Sky Initiative announces a one-week art competition begins today at Vista School in Ivins for 6^th through 8^th grade art students. Winners will receive awards for the best art interpretation of the night sky over Ivins.

Patty Dupre, co-founder of the Initiative, says this is much more than just an art competition because, “We will feature the winning artwork in all of our community outreach in our efforts to get Ivins designated an International Dark Sky Community. That way, through their art, these students will remind all of us in the community about the wonder, enchantment, and importance of the night sky.”

Students in three art classes at Vista School are competing to paint their interpretation of the night sky over Ivins for the Ivins Night Sky Initiative.

The students’ art will be judged by Steven Stradley, the Visual Arts Instructor at Tuacahn High School. In addition to teaching, Steven is a professional artist and maintains an active studio in Saint George. He is also represented at A Gallery Fine Art in Salt Lake City and exhibits nationally.

Chris Hart, the Mayor of Ivins notes, “The dark night sky is a cherished feature in Ivins City. We’ve gone to great lengths to preserve it and the Initiative’s effort to achieve designation is one I support wholeheartedly. I’d like to thank in advance the students that will help us spread the message.”

According to Eva Lorentzen, an accomplished artist and the Visual Arts Teacher at Vista School who is conducting the contest for her students, “This is a unique opportunity for students to combine visual art with science, sparking creative thinking and using critical problem solving to come up with original interpretations of the night sky. It will be exciting to see how they perceive the night sky over our city.”

Steven Stradley, the judge, explained why the challenge of this competition is particularly interesting, saying, “Art has the great capacity to engage interdisciplinary thought. Prompting students to engage with the night sky, through art, engages a sense of wonder, environmental and social responsibility, and connection that bridges the cosmos and our humanity.”

Eva expects that it will stimulate students’ long-term interest in the night sky and encourage them to think about ways to protect this valuable and fragile resource from light pollution so future generations can look up and experience the same sense of wonder that we can today.

Steven added that, as judge of the competition, “It is always a pleasure to see what creative processes and artistic vision each art work holds in store as I take time to view and contemplate. Much like Van Gogh’s “Starry Night” each artist has the capacity to re-envision the physical and metaphysical depth of the heavens.”

Awards will be announced on February 12^th.

Comparing Lumens to Watts in Incandescent Bulbs

Download a PDF of this article (196kb)

There are a lot of tables and converters on the internet that tell you how many lumens you need to get the same light you are used to seeing from incandescent bulbs. The problem is, they don’t all agree.

So, we went to Amazon and checked out the manufacturer’s specifications for 30 LED bulbs, ranging from 15 lumens to 6500 lumens. Well, just like our internet search, manufacturers don’t even agree about the relationship between lumens and the equivalent watts in incandescent bulbs.

For example, four manufacturers claimed their LED bulbs were the equivalent of 25 watt incandescent bulbs. But all four bulbs had different lumen outputs: 180, 200, 240, and 280 lumens. Another manufacturer had a 200 lumen LED and their specs said it was equivalent to a 15 watt incandescent bulb. We found the same inconsistencies all along the lumen scale. Maybe the way they measure lumens and watts varies. Or maybe the way they make their bulbs impacts efficiency.

Regardless, we need to have an easy-to-use reference so we can understand what kind of light to expect from an LED, at least for those of us who still think in terms of watts and incandescent bulbs. Plus, our Amazon search also showed us that efficiency varies a lot from manufacturer to manufacturer.

The table on the left is from the International Dark Sky Association (IDA). It gives a reasonable comparison between lumens and incandescent watts. The table on the right is a forecast based on manufacturer specifications for the 30 LED bulbs we found on Amazon. The forecast generates results that are close to the IDA table.

This graph shows the equivalent incandescent bulb wattage for LED ranging from 15 lumens to 6500 lumens. That’s a broad range, which makes it hard to see the equivalent wattage for LEDs below 1000 lumens.

This graph shows manufacturer data for LED bulbs up to 2000 lumens. There is a clear, almost linear trend, but you can see there’s a lot of variation as well.

So far, we’ve been comparing lumens to the equivalent wattage in incandescent bulbs. That is just a comparison to give us an idea of how much light we can expect from an LED based on what so many of us know best, incandescents and their wattage. Now let’s look at the actual watts consumed by LEDs.

It looks like higher lumen LEDs are more efficient than lower lumen LEDs, at least up to somewhere between 2500 and 3500 lumens. Looking at the red trend line, a 500 lumen LED generates about 80 lumens per watt used. That’s a generalization.

You can see from the graph that efficiency jumps all over the place, from about 70 lumens per watt to 100 lumens per watt for LEDs under 1000 lumens. At 2500 lumens, bulbs generate around 120 lumens per watt, actually 115 to 145.

If you have more information, please share it with us. Send us an email from the Contact us page.

Shedding Light on Outdoor LED Choices

New technologies come with unanticipated challenges. With outdoor LED lighting, that turns out to be significant levels of blue light. As a result, most current outdoor LED lighting is far more damaging to us and our nighttime environment than the old technologies they replace. This article appears to be a bit technical, but please continue reading. It will all make sense.

Download a PDF of this article (336kb)

Feeling blue

The coordinated color temperature (CCT) of a light is an expression of its overall color. Higher temperatures correspond to bluer light. LEDs with CCTs of 4000K and higher, typical of today’s LEDs used for outdoor street and parking lot lights, emit a lot of blue light. That results in the bright, glaring white light we see all too often today.

Even LEDs with a CCT of 3,000K emit more blue light than the fixtures they replace. The three charts above show a clear trend. LEDs with lower CCTS emit less blue light.

Limiting blue

“Cold” blue light brightens the sky more than “warm” yellow light because blue light scatters more than yellow. That’s why the sky is blue. The blue component of white sunlight is scattered when it hits our atmosphere while sunlight of other colors comes comparatively straight through. So even when properly shielded, blue light contributes proportionately more light pollution than the same amount of yellow light. One goal of proper lighting is to reduce the amount of blue light in favor of more yellow.

Most LEDs emit blue light, but the amount varies based on the LEDs color temperature. LEDs with a CCT of 3000K or less typically emit about 25% of their light as blue and are preferred, so one goal is to use lights with a CCT of 3000K or less. When it comes to blue, less is better.

It’s all in the eyes

But it’s not that simple. Our eyes are much more sensitive to “cold” blue light than “warmer” yellow colors. That’s one of the reasons we react negatively to so much of the outdoor LED lighting common today, those lights are rich in blue light, much too rich.

“Warmer” LEDs are less efficient

LEDs are a lot more energy efficient than older technologies they are replacing. But warmer LEDs are less efficient than colder LEDs because they emit less blue light. A 2200K LED is only about two-thirds as efficient as a 3000K LED, meaning it will consume more watts to create the same amount of useful light.

Do the least harm

Although cold blue LEDS are more energy efficient than warm yellow LEDs, cold LEDs cause harm in a variety of ways that need to be taken into consideration. There are important justifications for preferring yellow LEDs to blue despite the cost differential. These are glare, medical problems, and aesthetics:

Glare

Blue LEDs are brighter, watt for watt, than yellow LEDs, but blue LEDs increase glare and compromise human vision, especially in the aging eye. Blue lights create potential road safety problems for motorists and pedestrians alike. Using innovative fixtures that employ frosted lenses or reflectors helps reduce glare, but at the cost of some efficiency, and that reduces the operating cost differences between warmer and colder LEDs.

Medical problems keep piling up

A 2016 American Medical Association concluded that “white LED street lighting patterns [may] contribute to the risk of chronic disease in the populations of cities in which they have been installed.” The AMA recommends “minimizing and controlling blue-rich environmental lighting by using the lowest emission of blue light possible” to reduce potential negative effects on human health.

And, although there is less light output per watt of electricity in the lower Kelvin temperature rated lights, the AMA considers that a good thing, as they affirm outdoor public lighting is not just too blue, it is too bright.

A Harvard medical study states that “…blue light has been identified for years as the most dangerous light for the retina. After chronic exposure, one can expect to see long range growth in the number of macular degenerations, glaucoma’s, and retinal degenerative diseases.”

A paper published by the American Macular Degeneration Foundation (AMDF) reports, “the blue rays of the spectrum seem to accelerate age-related macular degeneration (AMD) more than any other rays in the spectrum”.

Blue light also disrupts the circadian rhythms of humans, animals, and plants; and it has even been implicated in the global obesity epidemic. Light pollution may be making us fat. Blue light also disrupts nocturnal animal behavior; both wild and domesticated animals.

Aesthetics

It is not true that people automatically prefer the whitest and brightest light in all applications. Many people prefer low CCT outdoor lighting, especially in residential areas. The city of Davis, CA, for example, was obliged to replace newly-installed 4800K street lighting with 2700K fixtures at a cost of $350,000 following residents’ complaints about “prison-white” lighting.

What should we do right now?

Limit outdoor LEDs to CCTs to no greater than 2700K, and preferably no greater than 2200K.
Reduce both the number and brightness of outdoor lights to the minimum to provide safe and effective lighting.
Use fully-shielded lighting.
Use timers, motion sensors, adaptive controls, and curfews to limit lighting to when it is needed.

Special thanks: While we take full responsibility for the statements in this article, we appreciate the detailed review, corrections, and editing provided by John Mosley and information from Christian Luginbuhl, U.S. Naval Observatory, Flagstaff (Retired), and founder of the Flagstaff Dark Skies Coalition.

Student Art Contest

The Ivins Night Sky Initiative is sponsoring a student art contest at Vista School for 6^th, 7^th, and 8^th grade students in Eva Lorentzen’s art classes. The contest begins on January 28, 2019. There will be awards and winners will receive gift certificates.

The goal of this contest is to promote dark sky awareness and make the enchantment of the night sky a focus point for students that will stay with them throughout their lives.

Contest details to be announced on January 28, 2019.

Our First Night Sky Survey

We conducted the first comprehensive night sky survey in Ivins on December 30th at nine locations to start tracking the health of our night sky.

The readings shown in the table and graph below are measures of the brightness of the sky in units commonly accepted by the astronomical community (magnitudes per arc second).

Lower numbers mean a brighter sky, and the scale is logarithmic where 1 step (eg. 19 to 20) represents a brightness difference of 2.5 times. That means the night sky above the Southern Utah Veterans Home (site 9) is almost three times brighter than the sky above the northwest area of Kayenta (site 7).

As you would expect, there is considerable variation in the darkness of the night sky across Ivins. The differences are due only to artificial lighting and not to any circumstances beyond our control. Yes, we are impacted by our neighbors, particularly St. George and Santa Clara. But this survey shows that a lot of the brightness in our night sky is generated right here in Ivins.

The 20.48 average for Ivins indicates we can see about 3,000 stars with the naked eye. If readings drop to 19, we would only be able to see about 800 stars, at most. If it drops to 18, a common reading in many cities, we would only see about 400 stars. That could happen to us.

A growing population in Ivins and surrounding communities will push us in that direction. And adding poorly designed outdoor lighting will get us there faster. That takes a lot of awe and wonderment out of the sky, not much of a legacy to leave for future generations. On the flip side, if we could improve outdoor lighting, we might bring back some of the darker skies we used to have. Or at least protect what we have now. Don’t we owe that to our children, grandchildren, and future generations?

What if we could improve the quality of our night sky? A reading of 21.5 means we would be able to see more than 5,000 stars with the naked eye. Look up on the next clear night and try to imagine seeing those many stars instead of what we can see now, or the 400 we might be leaving our children with.

Fortunately, there are solutions. We discuss those in our Position Paper (see the link above). And we’re doing more than talking about solutions. We’re working on them. Look at the “Activities” menu for current projects we are working on.

If you would like to get involved in this or any other projects, let us know. Send us an email from the Contact us page.

Technical notes: We made measurements using the SQM-L Sky Quality Meter by Unihedron. This is a narrow cone, sensitive low-level light meter recommended by the International Dark Sky Association. It is Model No. _2.18, Serial No. 7914. We followed approved methodology, taking three readings at each site and averaged the results.

Activity Update: December 2018

We have been busy working on getting Ivins designated an International Dark Sky Community. This will take at least a year to accomplish, but we’re off to a great start. Here’s an update:

We have studied 9 ordinances that have been passed recently that meet the International Dark Sky Association’s requirements (IDA). The ordinances are from mostly Utah and Arizona communities. We put together a 13-page memo comparing the current Ivins ordinance with the IDA requirements and suggested revisions to our ordinance. Then we met with City staff to review all of this information. Our conclusion: There’s good news and bad, but mostly good news.

In addition to revising our ordinance, IDA requires a lot of other steps, including community outreach, education, monitoring sky brightness, etc. Here’s where we stand on these efforts and what’s next:

We will launch the community outreach/education on January 8th with a 4-page position paper.
We created this website with a fair amount of information and will regularly add more.
We’re working on conducting a student art contest in the next few months. We haven’t worked out all the details yet, but we’re close. There will be an award for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners plus a small cash prize for them (or a gift certificate). The winning art will be used in our community outreach and education.
We conducted our first night sky brightness survey on December 30th. We surveyed 9 locations in the City and will revisit these sites to conduct semiannual night sky measurements. We verified the appropriateness of those locations with a few local astronomers.
We also started work on creating a Night Sky Friendly Business Award for businesses. But we just started, so stay tuned for details.

There’s a lot more to do, but this is a good start. If you would like to get involved in any of these projects, let us know. We need all the help and expertise we can get. Send us an email from the Contact us page.