FOUNTAIN HILLS, Ariz. (CN) — In Phoenix, skyscrapers block out the stars. Urban dwellers rarely see or notice them. Artificial or city light cancels out their shine. But not too far from the city is a safe harbor for stargazers or young minds looking to be inspired.
Nestled between Fountain Hills and Phoenix is a chain of extinct volcanic mountains known as the McDowell Mountains. In Fountain Hills, these mountains block out signs of an industry that bustles nearby. The mountains are a big reason why Fountain Hills is dark. But past residents also made it dark by design.
The town has historically had no residential street light.
Late in 2016, the town passed an outdoor lighting ordinance that adopted “warm lighting,” or 3,000 Kelvin max orange lighting for all new or replaced lighting. Traditional lighting sits at a higher and whiter Kelvin level and is harsher on the eyes.
As a result, Fountain Hills met the light pollution reduction requirements to become an International Dark Sky certified community in 2018. The results changed the skyline and residents’ lives.
“It's such a feather in our cap and such a gift,” said Rebecca Collman, a resident of Fountain Hills for 25 years. “We are truly fortunate to have this.”
The townscape glows at night with low-intensity orange floodlights. Most nights, when residents look up at the sky, they feel a sense of wonder. A feeling some felt when they gazed up after capturing a lightning bug on a long-forgotten Midwestern lawn.
Or when they camped riverside in the Grand Canyon with their folks.
“The dark sky reminds us that we humans are but a small part of a great universe,” said state Representative John Kavanagh, a Republican from Fountain Hills. “It is humbling to think of that but at the same time, it is inspiring to think that we are a part of such a great wonder. Having grown up in New York City, I didn’t see too many stars. However, looking up at the sky above Fountain Hills reminds me of the occasional trips I took up into the rural Catskills where you could see the beauty of the universe.”
Those irreplaceable times are in the past, as it seems the world faces a strange and uncertain time.
Fountain Hills residents want to move forward and strengthen their town with a facility appealing to the stars. They're raising money to build a Dark Sky Discovery Center.
“This exciting project will inspire people of any age to explore the skies above with all their mystery and wonder,” said Mayor Ginny Dickey. “Those with a healthy dose of curiosity will become even more eager to learn about the world we inhabit and the universe around us.”
In March, Fountain Hills dark sky leaders restarted their annual festival celebrating the stars. The festival ushered in a renewed sense of normalcy lost when the Covid-19 pandemic caused the cancellation of two festivals.
“Covid delayed our fundraising efforts a bit because it was very difficult to meet people,” said Joe Bill, president of the International Dark Sky Discovery Center. “We, of course, are seeking the remaining funding needed to be able to put that shovel in the ground.”
Fountain Hill residents at the festival see the discovery center as a way to move their town past the dark age of Covid-19. To move on to a future where a young child or college student will look through the discovery center’s observatory onto a spec that’ll be inhabited by another stargazer one day.
When fully funded, the facility will house four major components: a dark sky observatory that’ll accommodate the largest telescope in the greater Phoenix area, a hyperspace planetarium with digital-immersive technology, an inspiration theater with 8K projection and an immersion zone with interactive experiential exhibits.
The 20.5-foot domed observatory will feature the largest telescope in the Greater Phoenix area, a 27.5-inch PlaneWave telescope with fused silica optics designed for public viewing, research, live broadcasts and astrophotography.
With the center’s funding in focus, Joe Bill, president of the Dark Sky Discover Center initiative presented a tour of the concept facility and a virtual flyover video.
“I don’t have a question,” one resident said after the video presentation. “I just wanted to say I think this is the best thing that Fountain Hills could ever do.”
Similar dark sky community events worldwide kicked off Friday for International Dark Sky Week. Like the Fountain Hills event, organizers seek to educate the public on how light affects human health, animals, the environment and the ability to see the stars.
The International Dark-Sky Association, based in Tucson, believes traditional lighting may significantly impact the human senses.
In 2015, a study from the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health found traditional high-glare streetlights did not significantly prevent accidents or crime. Instead, the study found a correlation between dimmer lights and reduced violent crime. Higher Kelvin lights, the researchers found made it harder to identify “suitable targets” lurking behind in the shade of night.
An abundance of light past natural hours also may harm humans physiologically and behaviorally.
“I'm sure you're familiar with the circadian rhythm; studies show that long-term exposure to light at night leads to adverse health effects like obesity, diabetes and cancer,” said Ashley Wilson, director of conservation for the International Dark-Sky Association. While most outdoor light can be avoided, some of it permeates homes and lives in various ways. Wilson says it makes sense to associate this harm with outdoor lights.
For animals, city lights can cause birds to migrate too early or late, causing them to miss ideal conditions for nesting or foraging. Aquatic animals are affected similarly. On Kozushima Island in Japan, a village became dark-sky certified after they retrofitted all their streetlights to be 3,000 Kelvin.
The action reintroduced an endangered species to the island.
“They had the turtle nesting on their beaches for the first time in 10 years,” Wilson said. “You don't have to wait for a long time to see the immediate effects. It was more inviting to the mother to come on the beach and then didn't have the disorientation. Their hatchlings were able to go back to the ocean. Now there's this new generation of these endangered species.”
Whether it is for human health, the stars, animals or safety, communities are doing little things to bring some serenity into their lives, even if they fall short of a perfectly dark sky.
“For people who are interested, reach out to their City Council first and have that conversation and appeal to the council's values and what that community wants to protect or wants to enhance,” Wilson said.
Readers can find out more about donating to the Dark Sky Discovery Center at darkskycenter.org/donors/.
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