Dark Sky Maine Newsletter #1
Welcome to the first Newsletter of Dark Sky Maine, the New Non-profit Organization dedicated to preserving the precious night skies of Maine through awareness, experience, understanding and participation in personal, municipal, and statewide action. The steep learning curve and high level of activity in launching this effort is very exciting for the three principals, Nancy Hathaway, John Meader, and myself, Colin Caissie.
This effort arose out of the 2018 STARS OVER KATAHDIN Annual Star Party in the Katahdin Woods And Waters National Monument, East of Baxter State Park. For those who are beginning this valuable venture into understanding the immense value of our natural dark starry skies, this is one of the major efforts to preserve Maine's Dark skies...the largest area East of the Mississippi River that has not been significantly devastated by rampant light pollution. After a wonderful Star Party presentation with many speakers, testimonials sharing the experience of the Monument and the Night Sky, we assembled the following morning at the Lunksoos main cabin for a splendid breakfast and deep discussion on the preservation efforts. We heard from Kelley Beatty, editor for Sky Publishing on the issue of the risks of the current LED lighting technology, and reports on action on legislation to create a Dark Sky Preserve by Susan Ad. Nancy Hathaway then asked me if I wanted to get involved in forming a Maine Chapter of the IDA, that's the International Dark Sky Association, the strongest organization dedicated to dark sky preservation through education and activism.
After filing an application to form the Chapter, I found that the IDA requirements had changed, and our application was no longer in effect. New guidelines for Chapter formation involved documenting our own efforts and showing that we are strong enough to merit the Chapter designation. The three of us decided that regardless of future IDA designation, the work was immediately in front of us,and decided to meet monthly to form Dark Sky Maine.
Formation of the 501(c) 3 corporation has been initiated, State registration is due any day, and our website, created and hosted by George Fergusson of Whitefield is picking up speed and content. If you are finding us for the first time, please sign up for future monthly newsletters.
My own interest in astronomy started before my memories. My mother tells me that after showing me the constellation Orion, I called it “O'Brian”. One night under the stars, learning the Big Dipper is all it took to launch me into this magnificent pursuit. There are many beautiful ways to participate in a world larger than the common one. Astronomy, like Music, has so many facets....Physics, Art, Archaeology, Recreation, Spirituality, Cosmology, Society. After 6 decades of casual stargazing, astrophotography efforts and telescope making, I still seek out the nights of stars to witness and study the vast world of the heavens. When I travel, I seek out the dark regions that remain.
I just returned from a driving trip with my Father to Florida, visiting friends and relatives on both coasts and the interior. When planning the trip, I studied the light pollution maps to find the darkest areas for celestial observing, and brought a 10” reflector telescope which is being designed as a rugged, easily portable and operable outreach instrument for Dark Sky Maine's public education efforts. I found the Everglades, and an area West of Gainesville relatively clear of light pollution.
I was appalled by what I saw during the travels through major cities, and rural areas of the eastern Seaboard, and have returned a shaken, wiser, and more committed citizen. I had traveled before, but not with the same educated “eye”that now is really seeing this problem. Like so many other aspects of
large forces impacting our lives, these degradations to our environment go unnoticed until it is too late. There is no realistic hope that the larger population centers will ever regain a night sky that shows more than a few stars and the moon and planets. People who are in these areas simply no longer look up at the sky.
One of the main aims of Dark Sky Mane is to alert us and show us how to assess the approach of this silent and subtle problem. We are building links and libraries to scientific resources such as the American Medical Association and the National Institute of Health that have determined that light pollution significantly impacts your health. There are links to Environmental research showing the interruption of biological life cycles of animals and plants...decimating their population numbers by reproduction and longevity. We don't generally appreciate the value of these lives until far too late. As Joni Mitchell sang, “You don't know what you've got, till it's gone”. I returned from Florida with fresh resolve and I honestly plead with you, Please don't let that happen to Maine. On my return, I felt the beauty, the hope and the very real possibility of slowing or stopping the indiscriminate spread of what must truly be called BAD LIGHTING.
Perhaps there is a fresh wave of awareness that can produce real results now? I witnessed a TV advertisement of the New Apple iPhone 11. It has features a color-changing screen to reduce the disruption that daylight-like illumination has on our own circadian rhythms Simply put, the color of light definitely affects our brain chemistry and our endocrine functions. We are designed to go thrugh a quiescent period when daylight ceases. We're becoming aware. My own laptop has that same reduction of color temperature after a set time of day. Many organizations, companies, municipalities are now changing the type of lighting and the hours of operation. There is so much to discuss, study and participate in. This is your life. It has been said by many Dark Sky advocates, lighting engineers and economists that light pollution is one of the EASIEST issues to resolve. The issues and impacts are readily understood, the technology of better lighting is known, the appropirate priducts are being manufactured and are available, and more social and regulatory action is already in play. Lets provide the final piece by personally looking at our own local lighting, understand that we do have an easy win- win-win choice and take that valuable step to improve our lighted world.
If you'd like to access published maps of light pollution and see for yourself the condition of our country's light polluted areas click on one of the Clear Sky Charts on our front page and explore the page. Below the graph, which is one of the tools we astronomers use to schedule observing sessions, you'll find in “Nifty Links” a colored bar which opens up the local light pollution map, and lists links to:
There is also on that local light pollution map page, a link to download a Google Earth overlay for the relevant Clear Sky Clock, which I find immensely useful.
It's time to launch this initial Newsletter, and please inspect our website and the links that we have assembled so far. We pledge to refine and fortify these initial efforts to alert, educate and invite to action. More than just a nexus for political and legislative action, we wish that Dark Sky Maine will give us a tool to integrate and unify this powerful and valuable facet of our lives in the name of Wholeness, Health and Meaning.
