Dark Skies Gorge – July Update
Hi, everyone, and happy new moon this Thursday, July 24. It should be nice and warm, so let's all try to get out and enjoy the Dark Sky. In that happy spirit, we've got lots of good news this month, plus some more beautiful photos.
LET'S START WITH THE GOOD NEWS:
The new Light Well hotel is planning to change its sign
Last month we reported that the sign atop the new Light Well hotel in downtown Hood River is quite bright. To their credit, the developers themselves developed a plan to correct that.
The construction superintendent, Ceb (pronounded "Keb") Barrs, graciously invited three of us (Mike Hendricks, Mike McKeag, and Dark Skies Gorge supporter and long-time city leader Mark Zanmiller) for a visit and chat, and Ceb had already identified a different bulb that can be dimmed to whatever brightness is appropriate at the time -- or turned off completely. As a bonus, the new bulb can change colors, so they might have a green sign for St. Patrick's Day, a red sign for Valentine's Day, etc.
We think Ceb is a model for all developers, since he wants to build a beautiful new facility AND preserve the Gorge's dark skies. Please give the Light Well folks thanks for recognizing the issue and making an important change – and let's give them some time to implement the update.
The Perseids meteor showers have started
The Perseids are often the best meteor shower of the year, and they started on July 14. While they don't peak until August 11-12, the moon will be bright then, so now is a good time to see them. BTW, the meteors typically burn up about 60 miles high. You can learn more at: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2025/07/17/perseid-meteor-shower-2025-peak-where-to-see/85253946007/
The Vera C. Rubin Observatory just started operating in Chile
As the press release says, "The observatory's innovative 8.4-meter telescope has the largest digital camera ever built, and in just over 10 hours of test observations, NSF–DOE Rubin Observatory has already captured millions of galaxies and Milky Way stars and thousands of asteroids. The imagery is a small preview of Rubin Observatory's upcoming 10-year scientific mission to explore and understand some of the Universe's biggest mysteries."
Photo: NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory/H. Stockebrand
Sports fields CAN be Dark Sky Compatible
Here's a soccer pitch in Canada that shows what CAN be done. In fact, it was designated the first "DarkSky Approved Outdoor Sports Lighting" project outside the U.S. Can we think of any sports fields in the Gorge that could use some dark sky improvements?
Closer to home, do you want to take "the ultimate American stargazing road trip"?
Here's a nice story Dark Skies Gorge member Tina Castanares shared about stargazing in Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah. Of course, that's in addition to all the many dark sky spots in Oregon, right?
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/ultimate-stargazing-road-trip
Even closer to home, Mt. Hood Meadows is hosting Dark Sky Camping this Thursday for the new moon
They'll be turning off all their outdoor lights for stargazing, and if you have a self-contained RV, you can camp in their parking lot for $20. Plus they have hiking trails for the daytime. Contact their website to reserve a spot. How can we encourage other groups to turn off their lights at night -- maybe every night?
Sky Quality Meters continue to be installed in the Gorge
Mike McKeag is leading the very important effort, along with the Columbia River Gorge Commission, to install 12 Sky Quality Meters (SQMs) in the Gorge in order to measure the darkness of the night sky. So far, 10 SQMs have been placed and are being maintained by DarkSky Oregon, all to support the Gorge Commission’s Vital Signs Indicators program.
The City of Hood River development code update still includes "outdoor lighting" as something to add into the new code
Mike Hendricks spoke to the Hood River City Council yesterday, July 21, and urged the Council to consider using the new outdoor lighting standards from Sisters, Oregon as a model for the new Hood River standards (Mike's comments are attached). This code update is a continuing process, and we'll watch the progress and look for opportunities for you to add your voice.
AND NOW FOR SOME NIGHT SKY PHOTOS:
Antelope, Oregon proves their slogan -- "You can see the Milky Way from Main Street"
Mike McKeag took this photo from Main Street. Does anyone want to propose a field trip to see this view for ourselves?
Photo by Michael McKeag
This would be a considerably longer field trip
The Sombrero Galaxy (can you guess why it's named that?) is about 29,000,000 light years away, and the massive black hole in its center is about 2,000 times the size of our Milky Way's black hole. Puts us in perspective a bit, doesn't it?
Image from the James Webb Space Telescope
Well, that's it for this month. As you can see, there's a lot to be happy about and lots of ways to enjoy our dark skies in the Gorge. We hope you can do that, and in the meantime, let's remember to keep ourselves in the dark.
Best,
Mike Hendricks, Hood River
Mike McKeag, Mosier