Starry Skies North Prepares for Week of Events

Courtesy of Bob Foucault

MINNESOTA — Starry Skies North is on a mission to make sure everyone knows the importance of having a sky free of light pollution, in 2015 a group of citizens became concerned when the City of Duluth replaced the yellow bulbs for the streetlights with brighter blue LED lights. They worked with the City and guided them toward coming up with better, softer lighting and the organization was born. There has been an ongoing process of communication and education because the negative effects of bright lights are not always obvious.

Bob Foucault, Vice President of Dark Starry Skies said, “Light pollution has a variety of negative consequences. Not just our view of the night sky, but negative effects on wildlife and on human health and on environmental health.”

Starry Skies North also sponsors Celebrate the Night Sky week with a number of different activities aimed towards educating the public in an entertaining and engaging way.

Foucault added, “We call it Celebrate the Night Sky because we want to come at this from a positive approach. And so, we bring people together to learn more, be entertained, and hopefully increase their awareness on why we need to be concerned about this issue.”

The keynote event will begin Thursday in the August Fitger Room. It will feature a musical concert as well as a tour of the night sky by Astro Bob. Check out starryskiesnorth.org for the full schedule. Celebrate the Night Sky is in its seventh year.