Human WorldSpace

More great images in celebration of International Dark Sky Week

International Dark Sky Week is a worldwide event, and it’s happening right now (April 5-11, 2013). The goals of IDSW are to appreciate the beauty of the night sky and to raise awareness of how poor-quality lighting creates light pollution.

You can find out more about IDSW here. Meanwhile, here at EarthSky, to help celebrate, we’re sharing a few pics we got this week, some of the many, many fantastic dark sky photos we get from our friends, who celebrate dark skies all year. Thanks so much for sharing your pictures! They make us say “WOW!

Send us your photos for IDSW! Send via EarthSky on Facebook, EarthSky’s photo community on Google+, and/or e-mail: images@earthsky.org.

'A nice west Texas sky from Mt. Locke, in the Davis mountains near the McDonald Observatory ... Even from this remote location, you can see the light coming from Fort Davis on the bottom of the image. by EarthSky Facebook friend Sergio Garcia Rill
‘A nice west Texas sky from Mt. Locke, in the Davis mountains near the McDonald Observatory … Even from this remote location, you can see the light coming from Fort Davis on the bottom of the image. by EarthSky Facebook friend Sergio Garcia Rill
Starry skies and lightning strikes
Starry skies and lightning strikes over Central Valley, California. Composite image constructed by EarthSky on Google+ friend Scott Toste.
Photo credit: Arthur Seabra
Photo credit: Arthur Seabra. He writes, ‘Finally a clear night. Was able to spot Saturn and Scorpius along the edge of the galaxy last night. Just in time for Dark Sky Week.’
EarthSky Facebook friend Maciej Winiarczyk
By EarthSky Facebook friend Maciej Winiarczyk, who writes, ‘Don’t forget to celebrate International Dark Sky Week 5-11/04/13. I did my part last night (07/04/13) in -7 Celsius – refreshing ;). Thurso River in far north of mainland Scotland.’
Photo credit: Conor Ledwith.
Photo credit: Conor Ledwith. He writes ‘Good afternoon everyone, I want to make reference to International Dark Sky Week here (5th-11th April) by posting another fantastic night sky from the west of Ireland. So few people in the developed world who live in and around the cities and towns get to see skies like this which is a shame. On nights like these you can watch the sky for hours with complete fascination…’
'Sky, art, science, mind, eternity,' by EarthSky Facebook friend Jay G. Davis
‘Sky, art, science, mind, eternity,’ by EarthSky Facebook friend Jay G. Davis
Photo credit: Mike Hoag
‘The Milky Way from Eastern Kansas this morning a few hours before sunrise.’ by EarthSky Facebook friend Mike Hoag
Photo credit: Chris Georgia
Photo credit: Earthsky Facebook friend Chris Georgia, who writes, ‘A view of the great Atlantic Ocean from the seacoast of New Hampshire. To the far left the start of sunrise. Next is moon rise. The Milky Way. To the right light pollution from Hampton, NH and Boston, MA. Do your part to help the fight against light pollution! Visit www.darksky.org and turn off those unneeded lights at night.’
'9:01 PM, Jupiter, Pleiades, Zodiacal Light 4/6/13' by Stacy Oliver Bryant
‘9:01 PM, Jupiter, Pleiades, Zodiacal Light 4/6/13’ by Stacy Oliver Bryant
Photo credit: Mike Taylor
Photo credit: Mike Taylor. Mikes writes,’About this shot: The Milky Way rises above the old bellhouse & tower at Pemaquid Point Light, Maine as the sunrise blue hour lights up the sky – photographed at 5:32 AM on March 17, 2013. There are four different shooting stars captured in this 15 second exposure. The light on the horizon is coming from Monhegan Island which is 12 miles away. EXIF Info for the camera geeks like me: NIKON D7000 – Tonika 11-16mm aspherical lens – 15s – f/2.8 – 11mm – ISO 3200′
The dark river of the Milky Way, complete with airglow, flows into the White River National Forest in Summit County, Colorado. Photo by Daniel McVey. Visit his Facebook page.
EarthSky Facebook friend Daniel McVey captured this photo and wrote, “Summit County, Colorado: The dark river of the Milky Way, complete with airglow, flows into the White River National Forest.” Visit Daniel McVey’s Facebook page.
Star trails over Baja, California
Composite image of star trails over Baja, California from EarthSky Facebook friend, Sergio Garcia Rill. This image is the product of 80 separate photographs. Thank you, Sergio!

For more info, watch this 6.5 minute video, ‘Losing the Dark.’ It introduces and illustrates some of the issues regarding light pollution, and suggests three simple actions people can take to help mitigate it.

Posted 
April 9, 2013
 in 
Human World

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