BEYOND ECLIPSES

When the moon blots out the sun during Monday’s total solar eclipse, parts of 12 states, from Oregon to South Carolina, will be plunged into darkness for a few minutes. The eclipse will begin over the Pacific Ocean at 8:45 a.m. Pacific time and start to darken the sky at the first U.S. point in Salem, Ore., at 9:05 a.m. Other parts of the country, including Southern California, will experience a partial eclipse, a diminished darkening of the sky. The brief event may be the closest connection most of us will have to the dark sky our ancestors saw when they looked up — and that’s no easy trick these days. Earth has become so bright from the artificial glow of our own making that 80% of Americans can no longer see the Milky Way’s starry band, according to scientists who study light pollution. Why does that matter? It turns out that humans need the dark of night as much as they need sunlight. It keeps our biological clocks in order and sleep-inducing melatonin f lowing. Another reason humans should seek the dark: “We lose perspective of who we are,” said Amanda Gormley, spokeswoman for the International Dark-Sky Assn., which works to identify and protect the darkest places on the planet. “Looking into the night sky has the effect of making us feel small in a really beautiful way, not in a negative way, and helps us think about our place in the world.” Here are six destinations, above or below the Earth’s surface, to consider if you want to venture to the dark side.