Dark Skies Gorge – September Update
Hi, everyone, and happy September new moon. The official day was yesterday, and the skies last night were glorious. It's supposed to be clear all week, so let's enjoy our dark skies while we can.
A lot has been happening lately, so let's start closest to home and work our way out -- literally!
YOUR THREE DARK SKIES GORGE (DSG) "LEADERS" HAVE BEEN BUSY
Mike Hendricks spoke with the Hood River Lions Club on September 9.
Photo by Yvonne Arbogast
Mike McKeag and his colleagues at Rose City Astronomers hosted a Star Party in Mosier on September 12.
Mark Zanmiller has joined the DSG "leadership team"
Mark is well-known around town, a great person, and a terrific addition to our team. He's a strong supporter of dark skies, and he brings strong leadership skills. Trained as an electrical engineer, Mark spent almost 30 years working for various companies in our local high-tech industry and was named Tech Leader of the Year in 2020. He has also been a very active member of our community, including serving for 12 years on the Hood River City Council -- 6 years as City Council president. Mark is also a pedestrian commuter and estimates he has walked 20,000 miles in Hood River since moving here in 1991.
Needless to say, Dark Skies Gorge is thrilled to have Mark's passion for dark skies, his marvelous personality, and his many skills.
RIGHT OVERHEAD, HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF BIRDS ARE MIGRATING THROUGH HOOD RIVER COUNTY EVERY NIGHT
Here is a terrific website with data from Cornell University that estimates the number of birds migrating over any US county on any given night. It says that an amazing 267,000 -- 267,000! -- birds migrated over Hood River County last night (September 21-22). Let's keep those birds safe from light pollution!
https://dashboard.birdcast.info/?utm_campaign=Lab%20eNews%202024&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_2z6PfB0fH7Fb5Hyhz7II-cMMGHV1mS156iygqSSJgeFyTODDmJq1YYRVVf89CE9ink_VmSm9HcqQXZHrxRZo54ed8wQ&_hsmi=377217701&utm_content=377217701&utm_source=hs_email
MOVING A BIT OUT OF TOWN, MIKE MCKEAG TOOK THIS PHOTO OF THE NIGHT SKY OVER MARYHILL MUSEUM
A LITTLE FARTHER AWAY, ANTELOPE, OREGON IS OFFERING 'DARK SKY" STAYS IN SOME OF THE FORMER RAJNEESH CABINS
Here's an Oregonian story about this pretty unique opportunity. Anyone want to organize a group trip and we rent all 10 cabins for a night? https://www.oregonlive.com/living/2025/09/oregons-first-dark-sky-city-now-offers-stargazing-stays-in-former-rajneesh-cabins.html
ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE COUNTRY, THE US OPEN TENNIS TOURNAMENT HAS BECOME DARK-SKY FRIENDLY
There's been an incredible transformation of the lighting on the US Open's tennis courts. In fact, the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center is now the only professional sports venue certified by DarkSky International. This shows that sports fields CAN be dark-sky-friendly.
FROM CHILE, THERE'S SAD NEWS THAT THE ATACAMA DESERT OBSERVATORIES MAY BE LOSING THEIR DARK SKIES
This pristine desert in northern Chile is home to some of the world's finest and most ground-breaking observatories, but according to the New York Times, "a private energy company, AES Andes, announced plans for a vast renewable energy facility to manufacture hydrogen-based fuels in the Atacama Desert, nestled among the world’s finest observatories. It includes a wind and solar farm, a desalination plant, and a new port."
Astronomers around the world are protesting that this would be disastrous. Does anyone know the head of AES
Andes? https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/12/world/americas/chile-astronomer-atacama-light-pollution.html
MUCH FARTHER AWAY, HERE ARE THE PILLARS OF CREATION AS PHOTOGRAPHED BY THE HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE
These "pillars" are about 6,500 light-years away from Earth, within the Eagle Nebula of the Serpens constellation. They're actually massive columns of gas and dust, but new stars are currently being formed within them. Pretty spectacular, no?
Okay, that's it for this month. Before long we'll start to lose many of our clear nights, so let's take advantage of our Dark Skies Gorge while we can. And remember -- Let's keep ourselves in the dark.
Best, Mike Hendricks, Hood River
Mike McKeag, Mosier
Mark Zanmiller, Hood River