Keep connected as we embark on an exciting new year!

As a valued supporter, we invite you to participate in our growing global community! Stay informed by signing up for our monthly Night Owl newsletter, explore the importance of the night through our award-winning quarterly Nightscape magazine, or take the next step in your own journey to protect the night by becoming an official DarkSky Advocate. There are so many opportunities to stay connected as we embark on another exciting year together!

A year of global milestones for DarkSky

With your generous support, we’ve achieved so much in 2024—from certifying 19 new International Dark Sky Places to launching new policy templates that help municipalities and regions adopt comprehensive codes and statutes to reduce light pollution and protect the night.

Explore some of this year’s big achievements!

Newly certified International Dark Sky Places

This year, our team certified 19 new International Dark Sky Places, including AlUla, Saudi Arabia, Kaikōura, New Zealand, Eiweiler, Germany, and Oregon Outback, Oregon, U.S., the world’s largest Dark Sky Sanctuary and protected Dark Sky Place!

Use the new map feature on the International Dark Sky Places webpage to explore these newly certified parks, reserves, sanctuaries, urban areas, and communities!

International Dark Sky Places map

DarkSky policy templates

DarkSky recently created and published policy templates for local and state/territorial laws that support responsible outdoor nighttime lighting. These templates are grounded in our Five Principles of Responsible Outdoor Lighting at Night and were written in collaboration with industry professionals, lighting designers, environmental ecologists, and city planners.

Free to access and ready to adapt, these templates mark a major milestone in dark sky preservation, enabling protection of the night on a new scale with the potential to impact millions of people around the world.

DarkSky codes and statutes

DarkSky Approved Lodging program

In January, DarkSky launched the DarkSky Approved Lodging program, a new certificate program for overnight facilities with naturally dark skies and responsible outdoor lighting at night. This program includes hotels, resorts, retreat centers, cabins, and other permanent accommodations located in dark sky areas, all of which promote ecotourism and astrotourism.

Learn more about the program and discover places that are officially DarkSky Approved.

DarkSky Approved Lodging

DarkSky’s Principles of Responsible Astrotourism

With astrotourism growing in popularity, the DarkSky Board of Directors published a set of guiding principles to promote responsible astrotourism. These principles are designed to ensure that dark sky experiences benefit local communities, respect local knowledge and traditions, and protect the nighttime environment.

Learn more about these guiding principles and the process the board followed to create them.

Principles of Responsible Astrotourism