In the Stars
Look to the sky — and perhaps space — for your next unforgettable adventure. BY BRANDON SCHULTZ CELESTIAL SIGHTS: South Africa’s Leobo Observatory exterior (left) and observatory dome (right) PHOTOS: © SCOTT DUNN
THE SUMMER OF 2017 brought a great darkness to the United States. Americans united with a shared focus typically reserved for tragedy, but there was no sadness at this event. From the Northwest to the Southeast, a 70-mile-wide arc of night interrupted the daylight as a total solar eclipse enshrouded parts of the contiguous United States for the first time in 99 years. It was the first American eclipse of the social media age, and everyone wanted to be involved. Hotels along the totality band sold out far in advance (years, in some cases), and those desperate to witness the roughly two-minute event even rented space in strangers’ backyards. Elsewhere, a record number of Americans viewed the eclipse electronically, with a Univer-
sity of Michigan poll estimating 88 percent of American adults watched in some capacity — more than any Super Bowl or even the moon landing. Americans rekindled their love affair with space and, wanting more, sparked a sharp rise in astrotourism. Astrotourism once referred only to those who paid to enter space as a tourist but has since expanded to include just about any destination or program related to the skies, particularly at night. As interest continues to skyrocket, every player in the industry, from hotels and cruise ships to entire towns and cities, is clamoring to get in the game. Around the globe, local municipalities are enacting ordinances to reduce light pollution by drastically reducing or even eliminating upward lighting. They encourage the use of warm-color lighting (yellow, orange and red) when light is needed in designated dark zones, preserving the darkness of the sky to such an extent the Milky Way galaxy is once again visible to the naked eye. Though the concept isn’t new (Flagstaff, Arizona, is credited with pioneering the movement as early as 1950), it’s only relatively recently become a tourism selling point. Combine events like the 2017 eclipse with the fact 80 percent of Americans live under too much light pollution to see the Milky Way, and you have a recipe for FOMO (fear of missing out) on darkness that is driving travelers to dark sky-designated parks and reserves in droves.
LEISURE LIFESTYLE 2019
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