FORT DAVIS, Texas — The Dark Skies Initiative in far west Texas has made some progress in reaching its goal. The organization was founded by the McDonald Observatory in order to maintain dark spaces so the Milky Way stays visible at night.
According to DSI Coordinator Stephen Hummel, encroaching oil and gas activity, as well as urbanization in general, has threatened the ability to view the Milky Way at night.
That's why the initiative was founded, to protect one of the few truly dark spaces left in the U.S.
The good news is, the initiative has been making progress. In 2021, the sky got 5% darker, while in 2022 it got another 2% darker.
A lot of this progress was made because the city of Alpine passed a dark sky friendly lighting ordinance in 2021.
Mayor Catherine Eaves said the importance of maintaining dark skies is to promote tourism and healthy sleep cycles and to allow the McDonald Observatory to continue it's research.
Multiple buildings across the city have implemented smarter lighting techniques, including the library, high school and various private buildings.
The goal is to have 100% dark sky friendly lighting in the entire city by 2026.