Dark-sky preserve facts for kids
The Paranal Observatory in Chile is a dark-sky preserve, which lets it have good quality astronomical use
A dark-sky preserve (DSP) is protected area without light pollution created by humans. These areas are used to help promote astronomy. Different countries have different programs for making areas dark-sky preserves. The International Dark-Sky Association (IDA) uses the word reserve instead of park, or preserve with their dark-sky preserves. This is so that people don't confuse International Dark Sky Reserves (IDSR) and International Dark Sky Parks (IDSP).
In Canada, there is a very strict way to make areas dark-sky preserves. This was based on the work by the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. The program is based on the amount of light in an area and how much skyglow there is from cities and towns that are close to it. Canada's program is the only one in the world that makes areas dark-sky preserves. Outside Canada, when areas are called dark-sky preserves, they are not official, and might not be a real dark or protected preserve.
List of dark-sky preserves, reserves, and parks
| Country | Name | Location | Area (in ha) | Bortle scale | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | The Jump-Up, Australian Age of Dinosaurs | Winton, Queensland | 1,400 | 1–2 | Sanctuary | Designated on 27 April 2019 |
| Australia | Warrumbungle National Park | New South Wales | 23,312 | Dark Sky Park | Designated on 4 July 2016 | |
| Canada | Beaver Hills | Alberta | 29,300 | 4.5 | Designated on 3 September 2006 | |
| Canada | Jasper National Park | Alberta | 1,122,800 | 1–2 | Designated on 11 March 2011 | |
| Canada | Wood Buffalo National Park | Alberta/NWT | 4,480,700 | 1–2 | UNESCO World Heritage Site | Designated on 28 June 2013 |
| Canada | Cattle Point | Oak Bay, British Columbia | 5 | Urban Star Park | Designated 29 March 2013 | |
| Canada | McDonald Park | British Columbia | 5 | 2–3 | Designated in 2003 | |
| Canada | Fundy National Park | New Brunswick | 20,700 | 2 | Designated on 31 October 2011 | |
| Canada | Irving Nature Park Urban Star Park | Saint John, New Brunswick | 243 | ? | Urban Star Park | Designated on 1 July 2011; First RASC-designated Urban Star Park |
| Canada | Kouchibouguac National Park | New Brunswick | 23,920 | 2 | Designated on 6 June 2009 | |
| Canada | Mount Carleton Provincial Park | New Brunswick | 17,427 | 2 | Designated on 18 July 2009 | |
| Canada | Kejimkujik National Park | Nova Scotia | 40,400 | 2 | Designated on 7 August 2010 | |
| Canada | Bluewater Outdoor Education Centre | Ontario | 129 | 2 | Designated on 3 November 2012 by the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada | |
| Canada | Bruce Peninsula Fathom Five National Marine Park | Ontario | 16,700 | 2–3 | Designated on 29 March 2009 | |
| Canada | Gordon's Park | Ontario | 43.7 | 2–3 | Designated on 15 August 2009; designation is only for the Park though Manitoulin Island (276,611 ha) follows dark-sky practices | |
| Canada | Lake Superior Provincial Park | Ontario | 155,600 | 1-2 | Designated in July 2018 | |
| Canada | Killarney Provincial Park | Ontario | 64,500 | 1-2 | Designated in May 2018 | |
| Canada | North Frontenac Township | Ontario | 116,000 | 1–2 | Designated on 28 June 2013 | |
| Canada | Point Pelee National Park | Ontario | 2,000 | 3–4 | Designated in 2006 | |
| Canada | Torrance Barrens | Ontario | 1906 | 3 | Designated in 1999; first Canadian dark sky preserve | |
| Canada | Mont Mégantic Observatory | Quebec | 527,500 | 2–3 | Reserve | Designated Sept. 2007; first IDA International Dark-Sky Reserve |
| Canada | Cypress Hills | Saskatchewan/Alberta | 39,600 | 2 | Designated on 28 September 2004 | |
| Canada | Grasslands National Park | Saskatchewan | 92,100 | 1 | Designated on 2 October 2009 | |
| Czech Republic, Slovakia | Beskydy Dark-Sky Park | Moravian-Silesian Region, Czech Republic Čadca District, Slovakia |
30,800 | 3–4 | Designated on 4 March 2013; The second world's bilateral dark-sky park | |
| Czech Republic | Manětín Dark-Sky Park | Plzeň Region | 34,600 | 3–5 | Designated on 15 September 2014 | |
| Germany | Westhavelland Nature Park | Brandenburg | Designated an IDA International Dark Sky Reserve on 12 February 2014 | |||
| France | Pic du Midi de Bigorre | Hautes-Pyrénées | 311,200 | 2–4 | Reserve | Designated an IDA International Dark Sky Reserve in December 2013; First IDA International Dark Sky Reserve in France (still now) and in Europe. |
| Hungary | Hortobágy Starry Sky Park | 10,000 | ? | Designated on 31 January 2011; IDA's third international dark-sky park (Silver tier) | ||
| Hungary | Zselic National Landscape Protection Area | 9,042 | 3–4 | Designated on 16 November 2009 | ||
| Ireland | Kerry International Dark-Sky Reserve | Iveragh Peninsula, County Kerry | 70,000 | 1–3 | Reserve | Designated an IDA International Dark Sky Reserve on 27 January 2014 |
| Israel | Ramon Crater (Makhtesh Ramon) | 113.2 | 2–3 | Dark Sky Park | Designated 14 September 2017 | |
| Korea | Yeongyang Firefly Eco Park | North Gyeongsang Province, Yeongyang County, Subimyeon | 390 | Designated on 1 November 2015 | ||
| Namibia | NamibRand Nature Reserve | Reserve | Designated ??? | |||
| Netherlands | Boschplaat | Terschelling, Friesland | 2,400 | ? | Dark Sky Park | Designated on 7 October 2016 |
| Netherlands | Lauwersmeer | Groningen / Friesland | 5,000 | ? | Dark Sky Park | Designated on 26 June 2015 |
| New Zealand | Aoraki / Mount Cook National Park | Tekapo | 430,000 | 2 | Reserve | Designated on 9 June 2012 |
| Poland | Bieszczady Starry-Sky Park | Subcarpathia | 113,846.5 | 2–3 | Designated on 8 March 2013 | |
| Poland, Czech Republic | Izera Dark-Sky Park | Lower Silesia, Poland Liberec Region, Czech Republic |
7,500 | 3–4 | Designated on 4 November 2009; the first European dark-sky park and the first world's bilateral dark-sky park | |
| Slovakia, Poland, Ukraine | East Carpathian Dark-Sky Tripark | Poloniny Dark-Sky Park (Slovakia); Bieszczady Starry-Sky Park (Poland); Transcarpathian Dark-Sky Park (Ukraine) | 208,667 | 2–3 | Designated on 9 September 2016; first world's trilateral dark-sky park | |
| Slovakia | Poloniny Dark-Sky Park | Poloniny National Park | 48,519 | 2–3 | Designated on 3 December 2010 | |
| Slovakia | Veľká Fatra Dark-Sky Park | Veľká Fatra National Park (part of) | 325 | 3–4 | Designated on 12 June 2015 | |
| Ukraine | Transcarpathian Dark-Sky Park | Uzhansky National Nature Park | 46,302 | 2 | Designated on 10 June 2016 | |
| United Kingdom | Exmoor National Park | Devon & Somerset, England | Reserve | Designated 10 October 2011 | ||
| United Kingdom | Galloway Forest Park | Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland | 75,000 | 3 | Designated on 16 November 2009 | |
| United Kingdom | Sark | British Crown Dependency of Guernsey | 545 | 3 | Designated on 31 January 2011; IDA's first international dark-sky island (Silver tier) | |
| United Kingdom | Isle of Coll | Inner Hebrides, Scotland | Designated on 9 December 2013 | |||
| United Kingdom | Northumberland National Park | Northumberland, England | 103,000 | Dark Sky Park | Designated on 9 December 2013 | |
| United Kingdom | Brecon Beacons | Wales | Reserve | Designated 19 February 2013 | ||
| United Kingdom | Mata ki te Rangi (Eyes To the Sky) | British Overseas Territory of Pitcairn Islands | 4325 | 1 | Sanctuary | Designated 18 March 2019 |
| United States | Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument | Arizona | 4,242 km2 | Dark Sky Park | Designated 2014 | |
| United States | Death Valley National Park | California | 13,743 km2 | Dark Sky Park | Designated 2013 | |
| United States | Joshua Tree National Park | California | 3,199.59 km2 | Dark Sky Park | Designated 26 July 2017 | |
| United States | Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park | Colorado | 124.4 km2 | Dark Sky Park | Designated 2015 | |
| United States | Hovenweep National Monument | Colorado, Utah | 3.1 km2 | Dark Sky Park | Designated 2014 | |
| United States | Big Cypress National Preserve | Florida | 2,916 km2 | Dark Sky Park | Designated 2017 | |
| United States | Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park | Florida | ?? km2 | Dark Sky Park | Designated 2016 | |
| United States | Stephen C. Foster State Park | Georgia | 32 | Dark Sky Park | Designated November 2016 | |
| United States | Central Idaho Dark Sky Reserve | Idaho | Dark Sky Reserve | Designated December 2017 | ||
| United States | Potawatomi Wildlife Park | Indiana | 116 | 4.5 | Designated in 2003 | |
| United States | Lake Hudson State Recreation Area | Michigan | 890 | 3 | Dark Sky Preserve | Designated in 1993 |
| United States | Negwegon State Park | Michigan | 1,513 | Dark Sky Preserve | Designated in 2016 | |
| United States | Port Crescent State Park | Michigan | 2.4 km2 | Dark Sky Preserve | Designated in 2012 | |
| United States | Rockport State Recreation Area | Michigan | 17.15 km2 | Dark Sky Preserve | Designated in 2016 | |
| United States | Thompson's Harbor State Park | Michigan | 20.68 km2 | Dark Sky Preserve | Designated in 2016 | |
| United States | Wilderness State Park | Michigan | 4,254 | Dark Sky Preserve | Designated in 2012 | |
| United States | The Headlands | Michigan | 220 | 3–5 | Dark Sky Park | Designated in 2011 |
| United States | Chaco Culture National Historical Park | New Mexico | 13759 km2 | 2–3 | Dark Sky Park | Designated on 28 August 2013 |
| United States | Clayton Lake | New Mexico | 69 | Designated 29 June 2010 | ||
| United States | Observatory Park | Ohio | 418.5 | ? | Designated on 20 August 2011 | |
| United States | Cherry Springs State Park | Pennsylvania | 20 | 2 | Dark Sky Park | Designated as a State DSP in 2000 by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) and as the second International DSP by the IDA on 11 June 2007. |
| United States | Big Bend National Park | Texas | 324,219 ac | Dark Sky Park | Designated 11 February 2012 | |
| United States | Copper Breaks State Park | Texas | 770 | Dark Sky Park | Designated 6 August 2014 | |
| United States | Dripping Springs | Texas | Dark-sky Community | Designated 11 February 2014 | ||
| United States | Enchanted Rock | Texas | 665 | Dark Sky Park | Designated 6 August 2014 | |
| United States | UBarU Camp & Retreat Center | Texas | 57.5 | 2–3 | Dark Sky Park | Designated in 2015; only DSP in the USA on private land; open to the public |
| United States | Canyonlands National Park | Utah | 1365 km2 | Dark Sky Park | Designated 2015 | |
| United States | Capitol Reef National Park | Utah | 980 km2 | Dark Sky Park | Designated 2015 | |
| United States | Natural Bridges National Monument | Utah | 3090 | 2 | Dark Sky Park | Designated in 2007; first international dark-sky park |
| United States | Goldendale Observatory | Washington | 2 | Designated 29 June 2010 | ||
| United States | Newport State Park | Wisconsin | 960 | Designated in 2017 |
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Dark-sky preserve Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.