The International Dark-Sky Association (IDA) is a United States-based non-profit organization incorporated in 1988 by founders David Crawford, a professional astronomer, and Tim Hunter, a physician/amateur astronomer. The mission of the IDA is "to preserve and protect the night time environment and our heritage of dark skies through quality outdoor lighting." Light pollution is the result of outdoor lighting that is not properly shielded, allowing light shine into the eyes and night sky. Direct light that shines into the eyes is called

glare Glare (derived from GLAss REinforced laminate ) is a fiber metal laminate (FML) composed of several very thin layers of metal (usually aluminum) interspersed with layers of S-2 glass-fiber ''pre-preg'', bonded together with a matrix such as epo ...

, and light directed into the night sky above the

horizon The horizon is the apparent line that separates the surface of a celestial body from its sky when viewed from the perspective of an observer on or near the surface of the relevant body. This line divides all viewing directions based on whether i ...

causes skyglow. Lighting can also cause light trespass when it enters areas where unwanted (e.g. a neighbor's yard and windows). IDA was the first organization in the dark-sky movement, and is currently the largest.

Principal approach

IDA's principal approach is to raise awareness about the value of dark, star-filled night skies and encourage their protection and restoration through education about the problems and solutions, including outdoor lighting practices that create less light pollution. In 2011, the organization had about 5,000 members in 70 countries.

International Dark Sky Places

To promote awareness about the issues, the IDA has an International Dark Sky Places program that aims "to encourage communities, parks and protected areas around the world to preserve and protect dark sites through responsible lighting policies and public education". There are currently five types of designation for International Dark Sky Places: * International Dark Sky Sanctuaries * International Dark Sky Parks * International Dark Sky Reserves * International Dark Sky Communities * Urban Night Sky Places

International Dark Sky Sanctuaries

IDA describes Dark Sky Sanctuaries as "the most remote (and often darkest) places in the world whose conservation state is most fragile". * !Ae!Hai Kalahari Heritage Park South Africa, designated 2019 * Aotea / Great Barrier Island New Zealand, designated 2017 * Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness United States, designated 2020 * Beaver Island * Cosmic Campground United States, designated 2016 * Devils River State Natural Area – Del Norte Unit United States, designated 2019 * Gabriela Mistral Dark Sky Sanctuary Elqui Valley, Chile, designated 2015 * Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument United States, designated 2020 *

Massacre Rim Wilderness Study Area A massacre is the killing of a large number of people or animals, especially those who are not involved in any fighting or have no way of defending themselves. A massacre is generally considered to be morally unacceptable, especially when per ...

Washoe County, Nevada United States, designated 2019 * Medicine Rocks State Park United States, designated 2020 * Niue, designated 2020 – the first entire country to be designated. *

Pitcairn Islands The Pitcairn Islands (; Pitkern: '), officially the Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands, is a group of four volcanic islands in the southern Pacific Ocean that form the sole British Overseas Territory in the Pacific Ocean. The four isl ...

designated 2019 * Rainbow Bridge National Monument United States, designated 2018 * Stewart Island / Rakiura New Zealand, designated 2019 * The Jump-Up Australia, designated 2019

International Dark Sky Parks

IDA describes Dark Sky Parks as "publicly- or privately-owned spaces protected for natural conservation that implement good outdoor lighting and provide dark sky programs for visitors". * Natural Bridges National Monument, Utah, United States, designated 2006 * Cherry Springs State Park, Pennsylvania, United States, designated 2008 * Galloway Forest Park, Scotland, United Kingdom, designated 2009 * Zselic National Landscape Protection Area,

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croa ...

, designated 2009 *

Clayton Lake State Park Clayton Lake State Park is a state park of New Mexico, United States, featuring a recreational reservoir and a fossil trackway of dinosaur footprints. It is located north of Clayton, New Mexico, Clayton, close to New Mexico's border with Colora ...

, New Mexico, United States, designated 2010 *

Goldendale Observatory State Park Goldendale Observatory State Park is an educational facility on the northern side of Goldendale, Washington, notable for its unusually large public telescope. The state park occupies atop a hill. Access is via a winding paved road through a ...

, Washington, United States, designated 2010, suspended 2016, revoked 2017 * Hortobágy National Park, Hungary, designated 2011 *

The Headlands The Headlands International Dark Sky Park is a county park in the U.S. state of Michigan. The park preserves over of undeveloped Lake Michigan shoreline south and west of McGulpin Point Light in the Straits of Mackinac. It is located in, ...

, Michigan, United States, designated 2011 * Observatory Park, Ohio, United States, designated 2011 *

Big Bend National Park Big Bend National Park is an American national park located in West Texas, bordering Mexico. The park has national significance as the largest protected area of Chihuahuan Desert topography and ecology in the United States, and was named after ...

, Texas, United States, designated 2012 * Big Bend Ranch State Park, Texas, United States, designated 2017 *

Death Valley National Park Death Valley National Park is an American national park that straddles the California–Nevada border, east of the Sierra Nevada. The park boundaries include Death Valley, the northern section of Panamint Valley, the southern section of Eureka ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

, United States, designated 2013 * Chaco Culture National Historical Park, New Mexico, United States, designated 2013 * Northumberland National Park, England, United Kingdom, designated 2013 * Eifel National Park,

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

, designated 2014 *

Mayland Community College Mayland Community College is a public community college in Spruce Pine, North Carolina. The college also operates learning centers in Newland and Burnsville. The name of the college is derived from the three counties it primarily serves: Mitchel ...

Blue Ridge Observatory and Star Park, North Carolina, United States, designated 2014 *

Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor * Grand Mixer DXT, American turntablist * Grand Puba (born 1966), American rapper Places * Grand, Oklahoma * Grand, Vosges, village and comm ...

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States. It is the list of U.S. states and territories by area, 6th largest and the list of U.S. states and territories by population, 14 ...

, United States, designated 2014 * Hovenweep National Monument, Utah and

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

, United States, designated 2014 *

Copper Breaks State Park Copper Breaks State Park is a state park in Hardeman County, Texas, located approximately south of Quanah, the county seat. It covers and contains two small lakes and of trails. History Originally, Copper Breaks was part of the land held b ...

, Texas, United States, designated 2014 *

Enchanted Rock State Natural Area Enchanted Rock is a pink granite mountain located in the Llano Uplift about north of Fredericksburg, Texas and south of Llano, Texas, United States. Enchanted Rock State Natural Area, which includes Enchanted Rock and surrounding land, spans th ...

, Texas, United States, designated 2014 * Elan Valley Estate, Wales, United Kingdom, designated 2015 * Yeongyang Firefly Eco Park,

Yeongyang Yeongyang County (''Yeongyang-gun'') is an inland Administrative divisions of South Korea, county in the north-eastern area of North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. Geography An isolated area difficult to access, Yeongyang is sometimes called ...

, South Korea, designated 2015 * Mayo International Dark Sky Park,

County Mayo County Mayo (; ga, Contae Mhaigh Eo, meaning "Plain of the Taxus baccata, yew trees") is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Conn ...

, Republic of Ireland, designated 2016 * Warrumbungle National Park, New South Wales, Australia, designated 2016 * Dead Horse Point State Park, Utah, United States, designated 2016 *

Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park The Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park is the union of Waterton Lakes National Park in Canada and Glacier National Park in the United States. Both parks are declared Biosphere Reserves by UNESCO and their union as a World Heritage Site. H ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

and Montana, United States, designated 2017 *

Ramon Crater Makhtesh Ramon ( he, מכתש רמון; ''lit.'' Ramon Crater/ Makhtesh ; ar, وادي الرمان, links=no) is a geological feature of Israel's Negev desert. Located some 85 km south of the city of Beersheba, the landform is the wo ...

Negev Desert The Negev or Negeb (; he, הַנֶּגֶב, hanNegév; ar, ٱلنَّقَب, an-Naqab) is a desert and semidesert region of southern Israel. The region's largest city and administrative capital is Beersheba (pop. ), in the north. At its southe ...

, Israel, designated 2017 * Kartchner Caverns State Park, Arizona, United States, designated 2017 * Joshua Tree National Park, California, United States, designated 2017 * Obed Wild and Scenic River, Tennessee, United States, designated 2017 * Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, California, United States, designated 2018 * Iriomote-Ishigaki National Park, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan, designated 2018 * Steinaker State Park, Utah, United States, designated 2018 *

Grand Canyon National Park Grand Canyon National Park, located in northwestern Arizona, is the 15th site in the United States to have been named as a national park. The park's central feature is the Grand Canyon, a gorge of the Colorado River, which is often consider ...

, Arizona, United States, designated 2019 * Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, Colorado, United States, designated 2019 *

Hehuan Mountain Mount Hehuan (; also called Joy Mountain) is a mountain in Central Taiwan. The peak lies on the borders of Nantou and Hualien counties and is located within Taroko National Park. Hehuanshan is a popular destination in central Taiwan. The 3,42 ...

Nantou County Nantou County (; Hokkien POJ: ''Lâm-tâu-koān''; Hakka PFS: ''Nàm-thèu-yen'') is the second largest county of Taiwan by area, located in the central part of the country. It is also the only non-coastal county in Taiwan. Its name derives fro ...

, Taiwan, designated 2019 * El Morro National Monument, New Mexico, United States, designated 2019 *

Kōzu-shima is a volcanic Japanese island in the Philippine Sea. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Izu Shotō'',"''Japan Encyclopedia,'' p. 412. The island is administered by Tōkyō and is located approximately northwest of the Miyake-jima and sout ...

, Tokyo Metropolis, Japan, designated 2020 * Quetico Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, designated 2021 *

Valles Caldera National Preserve Valles Caldera (or Jemez Caldera) is a wide volcanic caldera in the Jemez Mountains of northern New Mexico. Hot springs, streams, fumaroles, natural gas seeps and volcanic domes dot the caldera floor landscape. The highest point in the cal ...

, New Mexico, United States, designated 2021

International Dark Sky Reserves

IDA describes Dark Sky Reserves as "dark 'core' zones surrounded by a populated periphery where policy controls are enacted to protect the darkness of the core". *

Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve A dark-sky preserve (DSP) is an area, usually surrounding a park or observatory, that restricts artificial light pollution. The purpose of the dark-sky movement is generally to promote astronomy. However, astronomy is certainly not the only objec ...

South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...

, New Zealand, designated 2012 * Brecon Beacons National Park, Wales, United Kingdom, designated 2013 *

Central Idaho Dark Sky Reserve The Central Idaho Dark Sky Reserve is a dark-sky preserve near the Sawtooth National Recreation Area, in the U.S. state of Idaho. It was designated on December 18, 2017 and is the first gold-tier dark sky preserve in the United States. The area wa ...

, Idaho, United States, designated 2017 * Exmoor National Park, England, United Kingdom, designated 2011 * Kerry International Dark-Sky Reserve,

County Kerry County Kerry ( gle, Contae Chiarraí) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and forms part of the province of Munster. It is named after the Ciarraige who lived in part of the present county. The population of the co ...

, Ireland, designated 2014 * The Reserve at Mont-Mégantic, Quebec, Canada, designated 2008 * Moore's Reserve (South Downs), England, designated 2016 *

NamibRand Nature Reserve The NamibRand Nature Reserve is a private nature reserve in Southwestern Namibia in the Namib Desert. Founded in 1984 by J.A. (Albi) Brückner, it has more than and shares a 100 km border with Namib-Naukluft National Park to the west and th ...

, Namibia, Africa, designated 2012 * Pic du Midi, France, designated 2013 *

Rhön Biosphere Reserve The Rhön Biosphere Reserve includes the entire central area of the Rhön Mountains, a low mountain range in the German states of Hesse, Bavaria and Thuringia. Aim In 1991 the Rhön was recognised at international level by UNESCO as a bio ...

, Germany, designated 2014 *

River Murray International Dark Sky Reserve Swan Reach is a river port in South Australia 127 km north-east of Adelaide on the Murray River between Blanchetown and Mannum in South Australia. It is on the left bank of the river. The Swan Reach Ferry is a cable ferry crossing operate ...

, near

Swan Reach, South Australia Swan Reach is a river port in South Australia 127 km north-east of Adelaide on the Murray River between Blanchetown, South Australia, Blanchetown and Mannum, South Australia, Mannum in South Australia. It is on the Bank (geography), left b ...

, designated 2019 * Snowdonia National Park, Wales, designated 2015 * Westhavelland Nature Park, Germany, designated 2014 * Newport State Park, Wisconsin, United States, designated 2017

International Dark Sky Communities

IDA describes Dark Sky Communities as "legally organized cities and towns that adopt quality outdoor lighting ordinances and undertake efforts to educate residents about the importance of dark skies". *

Flagstaff, Arizona Flagstaff ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Coconino County, Arizona, Coconino County in northern Arizona, in the southwestern United States. In 2019, the city's estimated population was 75,038. Flagstaff's combined metropolitan area has ...

, United States, designated 2001 *

Borrego Springs, California Borrego Springs (''Borrego'', Spanish for "Sheep") is a census-designated place (CDP) in San Diego County, California. The population was 3,429 at the 2010 census, up from 2,535 at the 2000 census, made up of both seasonal and year-round reside ...

, United States, designated 2009 * Sark,

Channel Islands The Channel Islands ( nrf, Îles d'la Manche; french: îles Anglo-Normandes or ''îles de la Manche'') are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey ...

, designated 2011 * Homer Glen, Illinois, United States, designated 2011 * Coll in the

Inner Hebrides The Inner Hebrides (; Scottish Gaelic: ''Na h-Eileanan a-staigh'', "the inner isles") is an archipelago off the west coast of mainland Scotland, to the south east of the Outer Hebrides. Together these two island chains form the Hebrides, whic ...

of Scotland, designated 2013 *

Dripping Springs, Texas Dripping Springs is a city in Hays County, Texas, United States. The population was 4,650 at the 2020 census. Dripping Springs is a primarily rural town. Geography Dripping Springs is in northern Hays County at (30.191998, –98.085382). It is ...

, United States, designated 2014 * Beverly Shores, Indiana, United States, designated 2014 *

Sedona, Arizona Sedona is a city that straddles the county line between Coconino and Yavapai counties in the northern Verde Valley region of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2010 census, its population was 10,031. It is within the Coconino National Fo ...

, United States, designated 2014 * Westcliffe and Silver Cliff, Colorado, United States, designated 2015 * Thunder Mountain Pootsee Nightsky, Arizona, United States, designated 2015 * Bon Accord, Alberta, Canada, designated 2015 * Horseshoe Bay, Texas, designated 2015 * Moffat, Scotland, designated 2016 * Big Park/Village of Oak Creek, Arizona, designated 2016 * River Oaks, Texas, Dark Sky Friendly Development of Distinction, designated 2017 * Ketchum, Idaho, designated 2017 * Møn, Denmark & Nyord, Denmark, designated 2017 *

Fountain Hills, Arizona Fountain Hills is a town in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. Known for its impressive fountain, once the tallest in the world, it borders the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation, Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, and Scottsdale. The p ...

, designated 2018 * Torrey, Utah, designated 2018 * Camp Verde, Arizona, designated 2018 *

Wimberley Wimberley is a village in Hays County, Texas, United States. It is still predominantly a ranching area outside of town. The population was 2,839 at the 2020 census. History Wimberley started as a trading post settlement near Cypress Creek in ...

and Woodcreek, Texas designated 2018

Urban Night Sky Places

IDA describes Urban Night Sky Places as "sites near or surrounded by large urban environs whose planning and design actively promote an authentic nighttime experience in the midst of significant artificial light at night, and that otherwise do not qualify for designation within any other International Dark Sky Places category". *

Fry Family Park Fry, fries, Fry's or frying may refer to: Food and cooking * Frying, the cooking of food in hot oil or fat ** French fries, deep-fried potato strips ** Frying pan, cookware for frying Businesses and organizations * Fry (racing team), a British ...

, Ohio, U.S., designated 2021 *

Palos Preserves Palos may refer to: __NOTOC__ Arts and entertainment *Two drums, the ''palos major'' and ''palos menor'', used in the music of the Dominican Republic *Palo (flamenco), a flamenco musical forms * ''Palos'' (TV series), a 2008 Philippine TV series ...

, Illinois, U.S., designated 2021 *

Stacy Park Stacy Park is a 35-acre public park in Olivette, Missouri. History The area that became Stacy Park was originally occupied by a natural pond known as "Bock's Pond". It was a common recreation spot in Mid-County. In 1926, St. Louis decided to ...

, Missouri, U.S., designated 2021 * Timpanogos Cave National Monument, Utah, U.S., designated 2020 * Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge, New Mexico, U.S., designated 2019

Fixture Seal of Approval

To promote the use of responsible outdoor lighting that minimizes light pollution, the IDA offers a Fixture Seal of Approval program. The program provides objective, third-party certification for lighting products that minimize glare, reduce light trespass, and do not pollute the night sky.

References

External links

Darksky.org: official International Dark-Sky Association website

Darksky.org: Dark Sky Observing Sites & Destinations
(archived 6 July 2010) *
flagstaffdarkskies.org: Flagstaff Dark Skies website
{{Authority control + Astronomy organizations Environmental organizations based in Arizona Environmental organizations established in 1988 Scientific organizations established in 1988 Event management companies