But as the minibus climbs up the Sutton Bank escarpment, it begins to clear.<\/p>\n
By the time we arrive at the North York Moors International Dark Sky Reserve<\/a>, we\u2019re high above the valley mist among heather moorland, low shrubs and stumpy trees.<\/p>\n Above us is a big sky with only thin wisps of cloud between the bright stars<\/a>.<\/p>\n The open clusters within Auriga<\/a> are naked-eye bright and so are the faint suns of Gemini<\/a>, Taurus<\/a> and Ursa Minor, all now so elusive from our towns and cities.<\/p>\n \u201cDoes anyone know, what is the furthest thing it\u2019s possible to see with the naked eye?\u201d says astronomer Richard Darn, our host for the evening.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Moon?\u201d says a voice from the dark. \u201cA nebula<\/a>?\u201d asks another.<\/p>\n The Andromeda Galaxy<\/a>, 2.5 million lightyears from Earth, is soon picked out with a green laser.<\/p>\n It\u2019s waiting in the crosshairs of a Takahashi refractor for all to inspect.<\/p>\n It\u2019s an exciting moment for many. In its wake comes the equally crowd-pleasing Pleiades<\/a>, the Orion Nebula<\/a>, Bode\u2019s Galaxy and the Cigar Galaxy<\/a>, double star Almach, and a waning comet, C\/2022 E3<\/a>.<\/p>\n The views are delivered crisply and quickly, but some guests seem happy just to stare at a \u2018blanket of stars\u2019 they\u2019ve heard much about but rarely seen.<\/p>\n This is a crowd mostly taking their first steps in navigating the night sky and they\u2019ve come from all over the UK \u2013 from Liverpool, Essex, Bournemouth and Cardiff \u2013 for the first of the North York Moors\u2019 two annual Dark Skies Festivals.<\/p>\n This particular event during the festival is organised by The Grand Hotel in nearby York as a \u2018dark skies package\u2019 that includes dinner, stargazing and breakfast.<\/p>\n Oh, and a flask of hot chocolate to take up to Sutton Bank\u2019s Star Hub, a purpose-built stargazing facility with a tastefully red-lit courtyard for telescopes and an indoor area to warm up.<\/p>\n This is amateur (g)astronomy at its best.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s so much demand for these events now,\u201d Darn says to me as we pack away the telescopes and binoculars later.<\/p>\n \u201cI love doing them. People have travelled from so far to be here and for many of them it\u2019s such an adventure just to walk out into a dark night.\u201d<\/p>\n It helps that the North York Moors is one of the driest upland areas in the UK, which frequently means clear skies.<\/p>\n Although it\u2019s one of three Milky Way-class Dark Sky Discovery Sites<\/a> in the North York Moors, Sutton Bank isn\u2019t in the darkest \u2018core zone\u2019 in the national park.<\/p>\n That\u2019s not really the point of events like these.<\/p>\n \u201cFor most people here tonight, this is the darkest sky they\u2019ve ever seen and I think that\u2019s really important \u2013 it\u2019s about accessibility,\u201d says Darn.<\/p>\n The skies have been getting darker in this part of the north of England for a few years.<\/span><\/p>\n Both the North York Moors National Park<\/a> and the nearby Yorkshire Dales National Park<\/a> became International Dark Sky Reserves in December 2020 and, at 3,615 square kilometres, together form the largest region of protected night skies in the UK.<\/span><\/p>\n The parks\u2019 light pollution<\/a> readings are as low as 21.6 and 21.7 on the Bortle scale, respectively.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt wasn\u2019t a joint application, just a simultaneous designation, but we work really closely together both on the applications and on our Dark Skies Festivals,\u201d says Mike Hawtin, dark skies officer at the North York Moors National Park.<\/span><\/p>\n Such is the rampant march of light pollution that getting and keeping Dark Sky status is not easy.<\/span><\/p>\n The applications to the International Dark-Sky Association<\/a> took about three years.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe had to monitor light levels at over 100 different sites and submit our dark skies readings \u2013 and we must do an annual report to prove that our skies continue to be dark,\u201d says Hannah Kay, dark sky project manager at the adjacent Yorkshire Dales National Park.<\/span><\/p>\n Grants are available for local businesses and farms in both parks to install dark-sky-friendly lighting<\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n The message to residents and visiting stargazers alike is simple, but can make a huge difference to keeping the skies dark.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cHave your lighting pointed down, use timers, use motion-sensor lighting where possible, and use warm colours,\u201d says Kay. <\/span><\/p>\n At its heart, the dark-sky designation is about taking practical steps to stop developments that have very poor lighting.<\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019s an easier sell than you might think.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve done 100 site visits and presentations to parish councils, farmers\u2019 groups and landowners. I\u2019ve had zero pushback,\u201d says Hawtin.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI just explain that it\u2019s not about banning all light, but using it sensitively, responsibly and sympathetically.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Both parks have targeted their darkest \u2018core zones\u2019 first because that\u2019s where new dark-sky-friendly lighting can make the most difference.<\/p>\n However, there\u2019s also a dark-sky-friendly business scheme that incentivises local people to keep the lights down low.<\/p>\n \u201cAbout 30 local businesses have signed up and can specifically promote themselves as dark-sky-friendly,\u201d says Kay.<\/p>\n \u201cSo if it\u2019s a bed and breakfast it will have dark-sky-friendly lighting, telescopes, binoculars and blankets.\u201d<\/p>\n Another pillar of any park\u2019s dark-sky status is outreach, something both of these regions excel in.<\/p>\n The North York Moors and the Yorkshire Dales both host some of the UK\u2019s largest and most successful dark-sky festivals<\/a>.<\/p>\n Staged in the same weeks each February and October, they include so much more than stargazing, including runs, zip wires, kayaking and biking at night to astrophotography<\/a> workshops, stargazing safaris and night walks.<\/p>\n In 2022, there were 44 different events involving over 2,400 people.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve had events where people go out running on the moors or cycling in the dark and they\u2019re often attended by people who don\u2019t usually get to see such dark skies,\u201d says Kay.<\/p>\n \u201cWe reach out to people to come and see our dark skies because it\u2019s something they will never see if they live in Leeds or Bradford.\u201d<\/p>\n The success of the festivals and dark-sky status is beginning to nurture an emerging dark-sky economy.<\/p>\n![\""The\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/25\/2023\/05\/GettyImages-1042366260-221e6a3-e1683641015553.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"The\\"\/")
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<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>Why the North Yorkshire skies are so dark<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>Acquiring dark-sky status<\/b><\/h2>\n
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<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>North York Moors Dark Skies Festivals<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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