Dark Skies

Dark skies play an invaluable night-time role for people all over the world. As industry expands, cities change over time, policy surrounding light pollution and climate change shifts, which affects dark skies. They often appear less dark, making the stars and other astrological bodies less visible. Many indigenous groups and other communities rely on the integrity of the dark skies for the continuation of their spiritual or agricultural practices. Dark skies are worth preserving for the future of those communities and the environments that they inhabit. Through State of the Rockies, students are conducting research to determine how action can be taken to conserve dark skies in Colorado.

Photo of the night sky taken at the Colorado College Observatory in Colorado Springs
Photo of the night sky taken at the Zapata Falls Campground in Alamosa County
Photos by Shane Burns, Professor of Physics at Colorado College
Left: from the Colorado College Observatory in Colorado Springs.  Right: from Zapata Falls Campground in Alamosa County.
Photos of the same part of the night sky, taken two nights apart.
One's view of the sky is often different from places that are far apart, even when observing the same part of the sky - especially from night to night.

Light Pollution in Colorado

Dark skies and light pollution in Colorado.
Map created by Drew Manning.
Compare the light pollution of Colorado Springs (high levels of light pollution due to urbanization) to Alamosa county, which is the area within the purple reserve boundary (low levels of light pollution). Light pollution disproportionately affects areas across Colorado.

 

Report an issue - Last updated: 06/03/2025