San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
Julian man looks for area to get Dark Sky Community designation
Calling Doug Sollosy, the “Prince of Darkness” would not be a sinister label.
You might even call him the light behind an effort to keep us in the dark.
The Julian resident is passionate about preserving the purity of the night sky, free from urban light pollution, and his four-year effort may soon result is new county guidelines regarding night lighting.
His effort is picking up steam as people become enlightened about the importance of preserving the night sky and how easily it can be done with a little knowledge and employing modern lighting techniques that are not only more efficient and effective, but less expensive.
Sollosy has picked up a lot of support, including the County of San Diego that will consider adopting new rural lighting regulations later this month that would offer residents and businesses more efficient ways of lighting.
As an amateur astronomer, Sollosy has long appreciated a dark sky, but it wasn’t until he moved to Julian that he fully connected with what a clear, dark night sky can provide for mind, soul and the environment.
Like many San Diego youngsters he attended school camp on Palomar Mountain at age 12.
“Even then you could not see much of the night sky in San Diego because of urban light pollution, so that was the first time I saw the Milky Way,” recalls the now retired adult education teacher.
He was touched deeply by the experience, along with a visit to Palomar Observatory, where he first saw magnificent images of stellar objects.
The clear night sky on Palomar and the observatory visit opened his eyes to many fascinating objects to be found in the cosmos and it sparked his interest in astronomy and science and in understanding the world in a larger sense.
But living in the city was a poor place to be an amateur astronomer, and he would seek the darker skies by traveling to remote rural areas of the county.
It was there that he connected with the universe.
“Some people feel small when looking into the cosmos, but I am inspired and enjoy a therapeutic inner peace from the beauty,” Sollosy says.
He also discovered how much more could be seen with the naked eye in a place not diminished by light pollution.
“Honestly, Van Gogh could not have panted Starry Sky today because of light pollution,” Sollosy said.
In many big cities today, a dark night is something of the past, and that saddens him. This not only affects humans but can disrupt breeding cycles of wildlife.
“The fact that children can’t look up and see the night sky will affect their intellectual quality of life. Kids are full of questions when exposed to the night sky, and it’s a shame to not have that,” he said.
Several years ago, Sollosy purchased land on a high point east of Julian. Three years ago, he became a full-time resident and completed construction of his Curiosity Peak Observatory where he conducts live virtual star parties on his Curiosity Peak Observatory Youtube channel.
Last weekend he had a fascinating presentation with similar telescopes showing the same objects side-by-side from the Julian site and from San Marcos. The images from Julian were far superior because of the clear sky, free of light pollution.
Inspired by the community of Borrego Springs and Anza-borrego Desert State Park that had both earned the International Dark Sky Association’s designation as dark sky locations, he began his effort to accomplish the same thing in Julian.
With help from the Anzaborrego Desert Natural History Association, the Julian efforts have blossomed and picked up broad support, including local Realtors, the Chamber of Commerce, the Julian Sponsor Group and a number of wildlife and conservation groups.
The most challenging task was getting the county to consider changing lighting regulations to create standards that would preserve darkness while still allowing for necessary lighting.
To Sollosy’s surprise, the county was interested and very helpful, resulting in a proposal for the creation of special Zone C lighting regulations for rural communities. The issue will be considered by the County Board of Supervisors on Oct. 28.
If all goes well, Julian could have the International Dark Sky Community designation by the end of the year.
“There is no organized opposition, because what we are doing is offering people a better way of lighting that will help preserve this treasure of a dark, night sky,” Sollosy said.
If approved, the new standards would be implemented over 10 years as light fixtures are replaced or new construction occurs.
Some of the regulations are simply a better way of doing things, such as motion lights instead of constant lighting, or security lights that are more diffused and effective, or store lighting that goes off once a business closes.
Sollosy understands that lighting is necessary for safety and esthetics, but there are smart ways of doing it.
“We find that most people are happy to learn how to be more efficient with lighting to preserve the night sky. We are only an hour from a major metropolitan area and have this treasure that we hope to preserve,” Sollosy said.
Contact Ernie at Packtrain.com