Excitement and anticipation are building for the upcoming total solar eclipse which will sweep across the United States this coming Monday from Texas to Maine. People have traveled from all around the world to experience the celestial event, choosing their spot along the line of totality (with more than four minutes of darkness possible) and hoping for clear skies as the moon blocks out the sun. Here in Oregon we’ll miss out on the eclipse entirely (though we experienced an annular eclipse here last October  — with just the ring of fire showing around the moon’s silhouette), but we have our own reason to celebrate the heavens . . . and for more than just a single day.

Most people may be unaware that April 2–8 this year has been designated International Dark Sky Week, culminating in the eclipse. It is championed by DarkSky International, a U.S.-based nonprofit that was established in 1988 by a professional astronomer and an amateur astronomer to draw attention to the problem of light pollution. It is dedicated to protecting the nighttime environment and preserving dark skies while reducing light pollution, the human-caused alteration of natural light levels. Light pollution, according to DarkSky’s website, “disrupts wildlife, impacts human health, wastes money and energy, contributes to climate change, and blocks our view of the universe.” Its International Dark Skies Places program works with communities and the public to certify and protect dark places to the benefit of both humans and other living creatures.

Currently there are 19 Dark Sky Sanctuaries scattered across five continents, with the newest one — and largest in the world — recently established here in remote southeastern Oregon, spanning 2.5 million acres of Lake County. Officially named the Oregon Outback International Dark Sky Sanctuary, it covers more than twice the space of its nearest competitor, Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, and plans are in the works to expand the sanctuary to a total of 11.4 million acres in neighboring Malheur and Harney counties. As its name implies, this part of Oregon, much like Australia’s Outback, is sparsely populated (the largest town boasts fewer than 2,500 residents), rugged and wildly beautiful. The high desert landscape features canyons and mountains,  Old West ranches, sagebrush plains populated by herds of antelope, lakes and streams; and the climate is dry with scant rain- and snowfall. As you might imagine, all of that makes it a perfect candidate for a place where light pollution doesn’t interfere with stargazing, nor does heavy cloud cover much of the year.

For those who love hiking and exploring wilder lands and don’t require a lot of amenities, it provides a broad expanse of unique landscapes. Thinking it would add another reason to draw visitors to the area, the Oregon Dark Sky Network, a group of state, local and federal officials; private individuals; business owners; and tourism agencies, worked together to achieve the sanctuary designation. In a recent interview, Bob Hackett, the executive director of Travel Southern Oregon, noted, “It not only elevates the destination experience for visitors to Lake County and opens up opportunities for local businesses, but it also helps agencies and residents steward their lands in ways that celebrate a legacy of starry night skies for generations to come.” It will promote the kind of regenerative tourism many destinations seek to encourage.

I’m looking forward to exploring some of those dark skies in my state this summer when my family and I travel to the eastern side of the state. In addition to the new Sanctuary, I learned there is a designated Dark Sky Park in Prineville and a Dark Sky Place at the Sunriver Nature Center & Observatory near Bend. Look here for a description of the five different types of Dark Sky Places and a list of those near you or near where you may be traveling; they exist in 22 countries across six continents.

— Patty Vanikiotis, associate editor/copy editor