Shining a Light On Dark Skies

Another stop on my US road trip was in the realms of remote west Texas, where the deserted roads roll on for hundreds of miles, where tarmac sizzles under the constant heat. It’s also one of the darkest places in the country, or, for that matter, the world. I visited the McDonald Observatory, a facility 450 miles west of Austin that has one of the largest telescopes in the world, to stargaze one night at a so-called “star party”. As I discovered in this BBC Future feature, more than 200 places around the world have now achieved such Dark Sky status as there is growing recognition of light pollution (it’s increased by at least 49% over 25 years) and the value of darkness, which is important for everything from human health to complex wildlife ecosystems.