Blog Archives

Reno Gazette-Journal (19th May 2016)

5/20/2016

Star Guide: Nevada's dark skies attain international recognition

2016 heralds in a new era for our precious resource of star-studded skies. Great Basin National Park has been designated a Dark Sky Park by the International Dark-Sky Association. The designation ensures the pristine darkness of the park will be preserved for visitors of the park to enjoy, and for the health and well-being of the animals calling the park home. I talked to John Barentine, program manager for the IDA, about the status and development of GBNP as a DSP.

Fusion (10th May 2016)

5/10/2016

Dark Sky Nation: This Native American tribe is saying no to light pollution

Artificial lights that brighten skyscrapers and other office buildings in cities across the globe disrupt migratory patterns of birds. “Birds navigate by moonlight and starlight,” said John C. Barentine, Ph.D., an astronomer and program manager at IDA. “Artificial lights cause birds to wander off course toward brightly lit buildings. The result is that every year, millions of birds die colliding into illuminated buildings.”

Las Vegas Review-Journal (5th May 2016)

5/5/2016

Stars fill the sky above an ancient bristlecone pine tree in this undated photo taken at Great Basin National Park, which could be home to a new research telescope as early as next summer. (Courtesy National Park Service)

People are being kept in the dark at Great Basin National Park, and they couldn’t be happier about it.

The remote preserve 300 miles northeast of Las Vegas just won certification as an International Dark Sky Park, a rare designation that places it alongside other starry wonderlands such as Death Valley National Park in California, Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument in Arizona and Capitol Reef and Canyonlands national parks in Utah.

John Barentine is program manager for the International Dark-Sky Association, a Tucson, Ariz.-based nonprofit that works to protect night skies from light pollution.

He said the sky above Great Basin isn’t merely dark. It’s “as close as you can get to what the night sky might have looked like before the invention of electric light.”

Media Appearances

Reno Gazette-Journal (19th May 2016)

Star Guide: Nevada's dark skies attain international recognition

Fusion (10th May 2016)

Las Vegas Review-Journal (5th May 2016)

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Media Appearances

Reno Gazette-Journal (19th May 2016)

Star Guide: Nevada's dark skies attain international recognition

Fusion (10th May 2016)

Las Vegas Review-Journal (5th May 2016)﻿

Media

Categories

Archives

Las Vegas Review-Journal (5th May 2016)