Mon, November 16, 2009
A forest park in southern Scotland has been named one of the world's best places for stargazing.
Galloway Forest Park has become the first Dark Sky Park in the UK, and the fourth around the globe.
The award, presented by the International Dark Sky Association (IDA), recognises the quality of the night sky in the area, where light pollution is minimal.
The pitch-black sky makes it easy to see distant galaxies such as the Milky Way and Andromeda.
Until now, there have been only three other Dark Sky Parks in the world - the Natural Bridges National Monument in Utah, the Cherry Springs State Park in Pennsylvania and the Geauga Park in Ohio.
The IDA said the new addition was a "fantastic asset" for the network of such parks.
Martin Morgan-Taylor, UK board member for the IDA, said: "A core aim in creating such a park is to identify and honour protected public lands with exceptional commitment to, and success in implementing, the ideals of dark sky restoration and preservation.
"Its location is ideally situated for access from Edinburgh, Glasgow, Belfast and northern England, meaning that many people, including children, may have access to a quality night sky, both now and in generations to come.
"Such skies are rapidly disappearing and less than 10% of people in the UK can now see the Milky Way from where they live."
As part of the selection process, the quality of sky above the park was measured using a sky quality meter. The darkest reading, such as that in a photographer's darkroom, would be 24, while a likely reading in a major city would be 15 or 16. Galloway Forest Park was rated 23 on the scale.
(Agencies)
