Part of our ability to advance astronomy relies on there still being dark places on the planet Earth where we can place telescopes. Not every kind of telescope can be put in orbit, and telescopes don’t have any magic filters that allow them to see faint stars in the noise of human lights reflecting through the atmosphere. For people who’ve never been someplace truly dark, it can be hard to understand what is missing. 

In order to both celebrate places where the sky is still dark, and to encourage people to reflect on the negative impacts of light pollution, the International Dark-Sky Association hosted a “Capture the Dark” photography contest. The winners have now been announced in categories ranging from “Connecting to the Dark” to the “Bright Side of Lighting”. These images are often creative and beautiful and may inspire you to try your own hand at night-time photography. 

More Information

International Dark-Sky Association article