Dark-sky honor: Kartchner
Caverns State Park receives recognition as an International Dark-Sky Park. The designation lauds Kartchner’s effort to limit outdoor lighting so that it doesn’t interfere with the view of the night sky. Kartchner is a good place to see the Milky Way stretching across the horizon.
Kartchner Caverns has always been known for its pitch-black interior when the lights go out. Now the Arizona state park has been recognized for its exterior darkness.
Kartchner Caverns State Park was named an International Dark-Sky Park by the International Dark-Sky Association, only the second state park to earn such status.
The designation, announced Thursday, awards Kartchner’s effort to maintain outdoor lighting that doesn’t interfere with the view of the night sky. It’s common to see the Milky Way stretching across the horizon, in part due to mountains that block the glare from Tucson’s lights.
“We welcome Arizona’s Kartchner Caverns State Park as the world’s newest International Dark Sky Park,” IDA Executive Director Scott Feierabend said. “The team there has done a commendable job in protecting the park’s night sky.”
Kartchner is hosting a dark-sky celebration at 2 p.m. Sept. 9. In addition to speakers representing the park and the IDSA, since the sky will be filled with light, solar telescopes will be set up for those who want to peer safely at the sun.
Kartchner Caverns is one of more than 50 Dark-Sky Parks around the globe, as named by the Tucson-based group dedicated to battling light pollution. In 2014, Oracle State Park earned the designation, the first Arizona State park to do so.
Flagstaff was the first Arizona locale to earn dark-sky status. In 2001, the IDA named Flagstaff an International Dark-Sky Community. Flagstaff has since been joined by Sedona, the Kaibab Paiute Reservation and the Village of Oak Creek as dark-sky communities.
Officials at Grand Canyon National Park are one year into a three-year project to earn dark-sky status.