For years, Heasley and other night sky enthusiasts in the region had dreamed of getting the properties designated as an international dark sky park, a title that signifies excellent stewardship of the night sky and attracts star-seeking visitors interested in astronomy — or just enjoying stars not visible when there is too much light. The measurements he took that spring showed the skies were easily dark enough to qualify for the designation.

In March, DarkSky International announced the creation of the Oregon Outback International Dark Sky Sanctuary, also known as ODISS (pronounced “Otis”). To call ODISS big is an understatement. The sanctuary covers 2.5 million acres—an area roughly the size of the Big Island of Hawai'i. The next phase, which will be formalized in thecoming years, will encompass a much larger swath of land, some 11.4 million acres.

This article summarizes local International Dark Sky Week activities.

The Winthrop Town Council has agreed to support a study of how to better mitigate “light leakage” at the Winthrop Rink.

This publication from the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) describes light pollution and its impacts across the globe. It summarizes lessons learned from certified dark sky sites, laws and policies from around the world, and provides guidelines for outdoor lighting and public engagement.

Join our upcoming astrophotography class series and discover the art of capturing stunning milky way, moon, aurora, time lapse, and deep sky images with your camera or phone. No experience necessary. This class is complete. You can see some of the photos from class in the Gallery.

Photography plays a powerful role in the dark sky movement. A photograph of the naturally dark sky connects those who’ve never laid eyes on the naturally dark sky to a universe hidden behind the veil of skyglow. In celebration, the DarkSky International is hosting the fourth annual Capture the Dark Photography Contest! It is free to enter and open to entrants worldwide.

My Favorte Bill Watterson "Calvin and Hobbes" cartoon features the stargazing duo under a night sky, ruminating, "If people looked at the stars each night, they'd live a lot differently."

April is Global Astronomy Month, a time when organizations around the globe ...

Every year, billions of birds migrate in the spring and fall, mostly flying in the dark and navigating by the night sky. And every year, tens of thousands of these birds die along the way from disorientation and collisions caused by artificial lights...

Travel magazine AFAR named the Methow Valley one of the top places for Stargazing in the lower 48 and gave Methow Dark Sky Coalition and Sun Mountain lodge a shout out.

The Methow Valley is one of the best places in the country to stargaze. Given our dark pristine night sky we can easily observe the Milky Way, the wispy galactic spiral arms and dust clouds, the tireless travels of the planets, periodic visitations by comets, annual meteor showers, the aurora borealis and more - most with the naked eye....

The New Zealand Dark Sky Network is advocating for national level legislation to reduce light pollution and preserve dark skies. If successful, New Zealand would join France and Croatia as the only countries with national laws to control light pollution.

We applaud the New Zealand Dark Sky Network for thinking big!

The Methow Dark Sky Coalition continues to work toward making the town of Winthrop a dark sky community. Recently, the coalition installed baffles at Winthrop’s Thriftway grocery and Ace Hardware. The baffles were made by metal artist and fabricator Barry Stromberger, and installed with a lift provided by Triple T Roofing...

After two years of proposals and discussions, on July 21, 2021, the Winthrop Town Council approved changes in the town’s outdoor lighting regulations intended to reduce light pollution.

After a public hearing that drew an unusual number of comments, the Winthrop Planning Commission has forwarded proposed changes in the town’s outdoor lighting regulations to the Town Council.

The Planning Commission’s recommendations were developed in response to efforts by the Methow Dark Sky Coalition, a local nonprofit organization, to make the town part of a valley-wide “dark sky community” devoted to reducing light pollution.

The Winthrop Town Council got its first look at the proposals during its meeting last week. Town Planner Rocklynn Culp said the Planning Commission is looking for council feedback and direction.

The US National Park Service (NPS) Night Skies Program measured changes in sky brightness resulting from a countywide lighting retrofit project. The retrofit took place in Chelan County, a gateway community to North Cascades National Park and Lake Chelan National Recreation Area in Washington State. The county retrofitted all 3693 county-owned high pressure sodium (HPS) street lamps to full cutoff LEDs.

The Winthrop Town Council has accepted an offer to retrofit downtown streetlights to be more “dark sky” friendly — at little or no cost to the town.

Exploring the differences between moonlight and streetlight.

The night has captured our imaginations since the beginning of time. After all, half our lifetimes are spent in darkness, and when our instincts kick in and our more primitive senses are heightened, who knows what weird and wonderful stories will unearth themselves?

Here are 10 books featuring the night.

Light pollution is threatening our ability to see the cosmos.

An opinion piece by the New York Times.

Methow Valley residents today enjoy a magnificently dark night sky filled with stars, planets, comets, the moon and myriad other celestial features. When city-dwellers visit, they often comment on the beautiful sweep of the Milky Way, the colorful glow of the Aurora Borealis, and the annual sparkling showers of meteors.

Long, dark nights may be ahead for Winthrop, the Methow Valley and beyond — and that would be a good thing, according to a group of local activists.

The Methow Dark Sky Coalition, an nonprofit organization that got its start over beers and discussions at a local pub, has put together a proposal that, fully realized, would create a huge “dark sky community” devoted to reducing light pollution and making stargazing even more brilliant, with the Methow Valley at its center.

For billions of years, Earthly life has flourished in a reassuring 24-hour cycle of light and darkness. Over the past century, however, urban skies have grown increasingly clouded with light pollution. The excess light disrupts circadian rhythms, poses safety and health risks, wastes energy, and exacts a sad aesthetic toll as well.

Residents’ resistance prompted agency to revise its plans in first major success for preserving the Methow night skies. Check out the song written for this event on our Gallery page.

The Winthrop Ice & Sports Rink’s board president and Winthrop Town Council discussed alternatives to find solutions in response to complaints about “light pollution” from the outdoor facility.

To protect natural nighttime darkness in the Methow Valley and save energy costs, the Okanogan County Electric Cooperative will replace about 100 street and yard lights with new fixtures that direct light down toward the ground.

Protecting the Methow Valley’s night skies from light pollution started as a new initiative of the Okanogan County Electric Cooperative in 2013.