Dark Sky Learning Lab
Timed perfectly to coincide with Earth Day and the Lyrid meteor shower, Travel Oregon and Visit Central Oregon hosted the Dark Sky Learning Lab at the Brasada Ranch earlier this week April 21-23. The Workshop began with an afternoon program at Worthy Brewing’s Hopservatory in Bend, OR, where, using a special filter that blocks out most of the sun’s light, we had the opportunity to look at the Sun through the telescope (accompanied, of course, by Grant Tandy’s humorous “We’ll be passing out coupons to the local ophthalmologist after this experience”).
That evening, at the Brasada Ranch, there were s’mores and night sky viewing, including a fireball meteor sighting!
Looking at the Beehive Cluster at the night sky viewing event. Image credit: Recreation Leader
Tuesday, April 22nd, was Earth Day. Happy Earth (and Sky!) Day! That day included a workshop on stewardship of dark skies by DarkSky Oregon. Here are the 5 principles of Dark Sky friendly lighting. Responsible outdoor lighting is:
Useful - Use light only if it is needed
Targeted - Direct light so it falls only where it is needed
Low Level - Light should be no brighter than necessary
Controlled - Use light only when it is needed
Warm-colored - Use warmer color (amber or red) lights where possible
There were also presentations on night sky guided adventures from Wanderlust Tours, insight on night sky cultural programming from Donovan Hanley of the Navajo Nation, and a session on nighttime photography by Bend Photo Tours and Grant Tandy Photography.
That evening, we visited the Prineville Reservoir State Park, which is an International Dark Sky Park. Heading out on the lake in canoes, we marveled at the magic of what clear, dark skies offer.
Our Wanderlust Tours guide briefing us before setting out in canoes on the Prineville Reservoir. Can you spot Orion in the image? Or the V-shaped grouping of stars called the Hyades in Taurus off to the right? Or Jupiter in the upper right corner? Image Credit: Recreation Leader
The Dark Sky Learning Lab highlighted what an incredibly special place Oregon is in regards to its accessibility to dark skies. All of the workshops emphasized the beauty and importance of preserving the night skies of Central Oregon and featured many of the people working in the area to educate others on the value and magic of keeping skies dark.
Come visit us at Asterisk Observatory and we’ll show you the stars!