Our Mission

DarkSky Texas promotes the use of better lighting to help restore our view of the nighttime sky, improve the safety and well-being of people and wildlife, and save energy.

Photo by Evan Miller

WHY PROTECT THE NIGHT SKY?

CONSIDER THIS...

Read each of the reasons shared on this page and think about why it’s important to you personally.

Photo by Jerod Roberts

Our Heritage

Before artificial lights surrounded us every night, humans were all connected by our common view of the night sky. We told stories about it. We told stories under it. Over time, we learned our place in the universe by studying it. We developed art and literature and songs tied to the night sky. We love to sing “The stars at night are big and bright – – – – deep in the heart of Texas.” Now, we are losing those stars.Many people, even those who grew up with bright lights in big cities, have pleasant memories of night skies from summer camps, visits to country-dwelling relatives, or family vacations to state and national parks. They know the wonders of a starry sky, a meteor shower, and the moon in its changing phases. They remember how good it felt to go for a long walk at night along a trail illuminated only by the light of a bright full moon. Those who have a reservoir of actual night sky experiences to draw from may feel a longing for what they once had. But what about those children who never see the stars, who live out their lives cut off from the natural night sky – is it possible for them to feel a nostalgia for something they have never known? Yes, they can, and they do feel this nostalgia. Perhaps the German noun “Sehnsucht” best captures this two-part idea that certain aspects of life seem unfinished, combined with a longing for some unknown joy. In this sense, the emotion relates to a profound loss, a grand “big picture” connection that has been thwarted. In other words, something is missing (the stars, the moon, the natural night sky in all its splendor) that would be there if everything was as it should be.Overly bright artificial lights directed in the wrong direction have stolen the night sky from most of us in Texas. We can easily change it with smarter lighting that looks better, saves money, and lets us see better after dark.

Property rights

Each Texan should be free to illuminate their own property with lighting that stays on their property and does not go above the structures on their property to damage our common view of the night sky.

Our property rights should be protected so that no one has unwanted artificial lights intruding onto their property. Artificial lighting from off-site can destroy an owner’s ability to enjoy their property. This unwanted light trespassing onto another’s property is a nuisance.

The example at the right shows lights that are almost one mile away, but which disrupt the activities of the owner of the property where the photo was taken.

save money

In the United States alone, it is estimated that billions of dollars in energy costs are wasted each year in outdoor lighting that shines up into the sky. This excess use of energy also translates into added pollution created by operating the lights and producing the electricity. The illumination in the photo projected or reflected above the area to be illuminated is wasted. Humans need lights to see but we need it directed to the walkways, parking lots, streets, etc. not upwards and not onto empty parking lots when no one will be there. Do you really want to pay for light that is wasted on other properties and up into the sky?

Safety & Security

Do you want to see better and feel safer? Eliminate glare! Warm colored lighting that is shielded so that you cannot see the light source provides great visibility. Improving visibility to be safer and more secure is almost that straightforward. The other thing to remember is to use the least amount of light that is needed for the task. Too much light at night blinds you and makes everything beyond the light look extremely dark. Reducing the amount of light lets you see in the lit area and beyond into the unlit area. Keep in mind that criminals need light too. Lighting can facilitate criminal activity by drawing attention to a property and permitting easy access. Criminals can hide when obscured by glare projecting into your eyes. Unshielded lights can reduce security and conceal someone with criminal intent. If there is no one present to see the criminal, all it will do is provide light for the criminal activity. Look at the two photographs in this section. The man who is visible after shielding the light in the right-hand photo was standing in the same spot in the left-hand photo. Look carefully. The glare from the unshielded light created a dark shadow for him to hide.

Photo by Joe Halton

Native Wildlife & Plants

Birds, bees, plants, frogs, dung beetles – almost every living thing needs natural light during the day and natural darkness at night. Natural darkness is important for navigation, reproduction, daily cycles, annual cycles, the balance between predators and prey, and general habitat health. More and more ecological and health issues are being identified that are caused by artificial light at night. Nocturnal frogs suddenly exposed to artificial light stop all activity and sit motionless even hours after the light has been turned off. Birds are drawn to artificial lit lighting in buildings and towers. Hundreds of thousands of migrating birds die each year from collisions or exhaustion circling artificial lights. Their vision and internal compasses seem to become dysfunctional in the artificial light. Artificial lights lead baby sea turtles off course and many die before they can get to the ocean. Salamanders and dung beetles lose their ability to navigate. Artificial light interferes with fireflies, which generate light for sexual communication, and has been blamed for a significant reduction in fireflies. Plants have a wide range of photoreceptors that perceive and respond to light signals. Night blooming plants fail to bloom, disrupting the insects that use them as food. The list goes on and on. Almost all living organisms have a dependence on a circadian rhythm. Daily cycles of light and darkness and the number of hours of each trigger key occurrences in their lives. We know what habitat destruction by bulldozer looks like. We are just beginning to understand all the alterations and disruptions that are caused by our modern habit of profusely using artificial light at night.

Health & Humanity

Almost every living thing on this earth has functions dependent on living in an environment with a pattern of light and darkness. At dusk each day we humans start the process to produce melatonin. You may be familiar with the fact that our bodies use melatonin to regulate the sleep cycle and reset our circadian rhythm each day. Melatonin does much more and is a key factor in good health. Medical studies show that exposure to artificial light at night negatively affects our health by tampering with our melatonin production. Even very small amounts of artificial light can suppress the production of melatonin enough to affect our sleep patterns and the rebuilding or our immune systems. Melatonin has been proved to stop the growth of many cancer cell during the hours of natural darkness when it peaks in our bodies. We need melatonin to be healthy. Artificial light stops that natural production of melatonin in our bodies.

Photo by W. Wren

Aesthetics

Glare, glare, glare! Glare is not attractive. Glare keeps you from seeing well. Even this elementary school looks better with less glare. Notice how you can see the parking space stripes near the shielded light but not in front of the unshielded light that is producing all the glare. Think how much nicer your home or business would look with warm lighting that hides the light source. Yes, warm lighting reduces glare too.
So, when you need artificial light, direct the light where you need it, hide the light source, use the least amount of light you can , turn it off when you do not need it, and use a warm (2700 Kelvin or less) light source.

Quality of Life

What does one need to live “the good life”?

Nutritious food and clean water, a place to live, access to education and health care are all deemed necessary for good quality of life. Then there are those less obvious, sometimes intangible, features of a good life such as happiness and a sense of purpose.

Experiencing nature in its abundant diversity makes us feel happy, more relaxed and at peace with the world. What could be more natural than the beautiful night sky? The majestic star-studded expanse puts everything in perspective. But when we’re cut off from the view because of electronic screens, myriad artificial lights and cities where everything is illuminated, we don’t see the stars and we feel the loss.

Photo by Rudy Ramirez

Tourism

Texas has many tourist attractions, but one of the most valuable is right above our heads every night. The Texas sky, where the stars are still big and bright, is drawing more and more visitors to dark sky areas. As skies grow more light polluted in our cities, Texans and non-Texans alike find themselves just wanting a night under the stars away from the lights, and parents want to show their children the Milky Way and stars like they remember from their youth.

You are probably aware of the popular weekly star parties conducted by the McDonald Observatory Visitors Center near Fort Davis. Those events bring approximately 80,000 visitors annually to the Fort Davis area. However, you do not need the lure of a major observatory and big telescopes to bring people to your area. The promise of a dark, star-filled sky is enough.

Dark sky tourism has a rich future in Texas. Numerous communities and subdivisions are highlighting the night sky as a feature already. Cities, towns, chambers of commerce and tourist bureaus can join this movement using these tips:

• Highlight local dark skies in advertising and on websites.

• Set aside local public areas where visitors can get away from the city lights (rural parks are ideal for this, provided the area lights are turned off).

• Coordinate with local amateur astronomers to set up weekend star parties for visitors.

• Encourage local rural B&B’s to highlight their dark skies in their advertising and to provide dark areas away from their light to allow viewing. Some B&Bs may even arrange to have local astronomers on site every weekend.

In addition, thousands of tourists will converge on Texas sites for the April 8, 2024 total eclipse of the Sun. They will want observing sites within the path of totality where night-time lighting will not turn on automatically during the eclipse, ruining their photographs. Many will also want to take advantage of dark Texas skies on the nights before and after the eclipse. Texas localities can check whether they are in the path of totality at https://nationaleclipse.com/maps.html.

One Basic Commitment

Make a personal commitment to eliminate light pollution on your property.

WHERE DO I START?

Online Learning

Common Sense Solutions & Resources

Be a Star Award

IDA Texas is now DarkSky Texas

Our Mission