When Denis and I lived in NoNJ we very rarely could see the stars shining in the sky unless the sky was spotless – and even then it was difficult since our area was so congested with light pollution. During the recent lunar eclipse I had the pleasure of standing on my back patio watching the moon slowly turn red with a multitude of stars all around. It was lovely to watch (I tried taking pictures but I can’t work the camera well enough to get good nighttime shots). I love how my kids will look up in the sky at night and say, “Wow, Mama! Look at the stars!!”
So many people don’t get to do that – those that live in big cities, or areas with a lot of pollution. That’s why the Dark Sky Festival in Florida sounds like it would be a lot of fun. It’s on April 5, 2008 and will be the fifth year for this event. The festival promoters set up a variety of telescopes for the attendees to look at the heavens, but also had an entire area devoted to teaching children about the importance of dark skies to wildlife. They had over 1,000 people attend their first function, and it has grown since then – this year the Motown band Rare Earth is performing during the festival.