Grand Canyon becomes "Dark Sky Park"

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The Grand Canyon is now a Dark Sky Park—here’s why that matters



It's been a big year for the Grand Canyon. The iconic park celebrates its centennial in 2019. Now it has received a new honor: International Dark Sky Park certification.

The designation places the Grand Canyon into esteemed company with more than 60 dark sky parks, communities, and reserves in the United States. Only nine of the 61 national parks in the U.S. are certified by the International Dark Sky Association. These parks include Joshua Tree, Death Valley, and Big Bend National Parks. (Discover more of the world's best stargazing destinations.)

Certification was a lengthy process for the Grand Canyon; preliminary efforts to meet the Dark Sky Park status began in 2016. A key initiative included outfitting the thousands of exterior lights in the park to decrease the amount of light pollution and enhance night sky star visibility. (Our nights are getting brighter. Read more about the effects of light pollution.)


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I am actually delighted to see this. Very few times in my life have I been totally awe struck. One of them was out in the middle of the desert at night and seeing what the night sky REALLY looks like without light pollution. I was astounded at the amount of stars in the sky that can be seen when there is no light to blind you. Awestruck...a word rarely used but did apply when I saw this for the first time.