The Kerry International Dark-Sky Reserve (KIDSR; ) is a

dark-sky preserve 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 obje ...

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 Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. It was designated Ireland's first International Dark Sky Reserve by the

International Dark-Sky Association 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 " ...

(IDA). Kerry International Dark-Sky Reserve was awarded the Gold Tier Award on 27 January 2014, by the IDA. It was the first Gold Tier Reserve in the

northern hemisphere The Northern Hemisphere is the half of Earth that is north of the Equator. For other planets in the Solar System, north is defined as being in the same celestial hemisphere relative to the invariable plane of the solar system as Earth's Nort ...

, and is one of only four Gold Tier Dark-Sky Reserves in the world.

Location

The Kerry International Dark-Sky Reserve is approximately in size and covers nine regions.

Kerry International dark-Sky Reserve Core Zone fish-eye image

# Kells/Foilmore #

Cahersiveen Cahersiveen (), sometimes Cahirciveen, is a town on the N70 national secondary road in County Kerry, Ireland. As of the 2016 CSO census, the town had a population of 1,041. Geography Cahersiveen is on the slopes of 376-metre-high Bentee, and ...

Valentia Island Valentia Island () is one of Ireland's most westerly points. It lies off the Iveragh Peninsula in the southwest of County Kerry. It is linked to the mainland by the Maurice O'Neill Memorial Bridge at Portmagee. A car ferry also departs from R ...

Portmagee Portmagee () is a village in County Kerry, Ireland. The village is located on the Iveragh peninsula south of Valentia Island, and is known locally as 'the ferry', in reference to its purpose as a crossing point to the island. Access to Valentia ...

# The Glen #

Ballinskelligs Ballinskelligs, officially (Irish for "town (townland) of the craggy rock"), is a townland in the civil parish of Prior, County Kerry, Ireland. It may also refer to the wider district around the townland. It is located in the south-west of the ...

# Waterville # Dromid # Derrynane/

Caherdaniel Caherdaniel () is a village in County Kerry, Ireland, located on the Iveragh peninsula on the Ring of Kerry. It is on the southwestern side of the peninsula, facing onto Derrynane Bay, at a T-junction on the N70 road. A stone ringfort (''cathai ...

The Kerry Dark-Sky Group office is situated in Dungeagan,

History

The Kerry Dark-Sky Group was created in 2013 after several out-reach meetings with local community groups in the Reserve at the request of attendees to the gatherings. The purpose of the Kerry Dark-Sky Group is to promote astro-tourism in the Reserve via community projects, local outreach, and events.

Collaborations

On 5 August 2014 The Kerry International Dark-Sky Reserve officially twinned with the Aoraki Mackenzie Gold Tier Reserve in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

References

External links

Official website

* http://www.eturbonews.com/48918/alien-helping-lure-visitors-new-dark-sky-reserve-centre-ballinsk * http://www.rte.ie/news/player/2014/0127/20513706-south-west-kerry-named-as-europes-first-gold-tier-dark-sky-reserve/ {{coord missing, County Kerry Dark-sky preserves in the Republic of Ireland Protected areas of County Kerry