HEREIS MAGICINSTANDINGOUTSIDEUNDER
ablanketofstars– butit’sbecomingmore
difficultto experience.Accordingto research
conductedbythe LightPollutionScienceand
TechnologyInstitute,80 per cent of the Earth’slandmass
isaffectedbylightpollution.Perspective-seekersmustput
inabit of workto reachplacesdark enough to see the
cosmosinits glimmeringsplendour.
Severalnationalgovernmentsand organisations,such
as the InternationalDarkSky Association,havebegun
awardingdesignationsto placeswhichare working
topreservethe qualityof theirdark skies.But all the
dark-sky-friendlyLED lightingin the worldcan’tfix the
lingeringhorizon-glowfroma nearbycity. To reallyget
dark,you needto seek out, travelto or even hike your way
tothe remotestcornersof the planet.
And onceat your destination,you may needto overcome
extremeweatherand wild terrain.But stargazinghas
theside benefitsof developingyour patienceand
concentration.A digitaldetoxis also obligatory:for the
humaneye to take in smallamountsof light,the pupil
must dilate and adjust, so phones must stay in pockets.
Go dark
CHACOCANYON
NATIONALPARK,
NEWMEXICO,USA
Betweenthe10thand12th
centuries,a remarkable
culture,nowcalledthe
AncestralPuebloan,builta
seriesof stonefortsalonglines
correspondingto thenightsky
in whatis nowremote
northwesternNewMexico.
Theyappearto havebeen
abandonedduringa 50-year
drought,butthesestructures
remainedthebiggesteverbuilt
in whatis nowtheUSAuntilthe
19thcentury.Accessibleby
dirtroads,ChacoCanyonis
a designateddark-skypark
withanobservatoryand
stargazingevents.
FAlbuquerqueairportis
150 milesaway;fromthere
you’llneedyourowncar.
HeritageInspirationsruns
glampingtours(£790;
heritageinspirations.com).AORAKIMACKENZIE
DARKSKYRESERVE,
NEWZEALAND
CentringonNewZealand’s
highestpeak,MtCook,the
world’slargestdark-skypark
coversa remoteswatheof the
SouthIsland.Theviewsof the
night skies from here (pictured)Ona planetplaguedbylightpollution,
it takeseffortto evadethetangerine
glowof urbancentres.Butif youcan,
you’llreapa richreward:the full
majesty of the night sky
areunequalledin New
Zealand,and,as it is theonly
darkskyreservein the
southernhemisphere,are
uniquein theworld.Thereare
twoobservatories,andseveral
toursgetyouoffthebeaten
trackforeithernaked-eyeor
observatorystargazing.
FMtJohnObservatoryis three
hours’drivefromChristchurch;
stayin LakeTekapovillage.
EarthandSkyrunstoursthat
includetelescope-based
observation(£52;
earthandsky.co.nz).LAPALMA,CANARY
ISLANDS,SPAIN
Thewholeislandof La Palma
is a starlightreserveandis
hometo theRoquedelos
MuchachosObservatory,
whichhassomeof thelargest
telescopesin thenorthern
hemisphere.Withtheislandoff
thewestcoastof Africaand
theobservatoryat 2,400m,
visibilityis particularlygood.
Therearewalksdesignedfor
night-hiking,withstargazing
viewpointsalongtheway.
FTheobservatoryis openin
thedayonly;hikingtrails
areopenall yearround.
Stayin nearbyGarafía
(starsislandlapalma.es). PHOTOGRAPH: RASDI ABDUL RAHMAN/GETTY IMAGES