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deployed at 94 parks, allowing the agency to
quantify light pollution and track its sources.
Our data shows that parks such as Great
Basin off er outstanding skies. From atop one
of the park’s highest peaks, Las Vegas and
Salt Lake City are barely evident in our CCD
imagery. Large metropolises can leave their
mark at distances exceeding 200 miles (320
km). In more than 10 years of data collection
and thousands of hours in the fi eld, only a
handful of Bortle Scale Class 1 skies have ever
been glimpsed (www.skyandtelescope.com/
resources/darksky/3304011.html). Our work
illuminates the hard truth that a pristine night
sky is exceedingly fragile, and what many
stargazers consider to be a “dark” sky is often
far from it. Without action, future generations
may lose the opportunity to look beyond our
planet into the deep cosmos.
Today, our NPS team has expanded to fi ve
full-time scientists and has widened its scope
to all aspects of the protection and restoration
of “natural lightscapes.” Current projects
include the development of a sky-quality
index, establishment of park-appropriate lighting
guidelines, retrofi tting in-park lighting,
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light-pollution education, and leveraging parks
as the core of dark-sky reserves. The NPS
works closely with the International Dark-Sky
Association, amateur astronomers, and other
public-land managers to protect the inspirational
view of the cosmos and the darkness
that is essential for a balanced ecosystem.
Such an ambitious vision requires broad
public support, and this is where national
parks and amateur astronomers can form
potent partnerships. Visitors to parks and
other areas are attuned to nature and feel relatively
free of the hurried urban lifestyle that
takes the sky for granted. A well–orchestrated
viewing of the cosmos paired with a night-skyconservation
message can make a diff erence.
The NPS Night Skies Team manages a
nationwide Night Sky Ambassador program
(http://nature.nps.gov/air/lightscapes/
astroVIP) where service-oriented amateur
astronomers can work alongside park rangers
to interpret the cosmos for starlight–deprived
citizens. Such programs being undertaken in
nearly 20 parks take star parties to a new level
of astronomy outreach; and these programs
are typically paired with cross–training for
WALLY PACHOLKA
GREAT BASIN
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S
both telescope operators and park rangers.
Though some astronomers may have resigned
themselves to a future without the delicate
structure of the Milky Way arching overhead,
others fi nd hope in those dark places that still
remain. For the latter, you have a new ally.e
For 12 years Chad Moore (chad_moore@nps.
gov) has led the U.S. National Park Service
Night Skies Team. He still drives a 6-inch
Newtonian he’s owned since age 16.
SkyandTelescope.com May 2012 33