Antelope goes for Dark Sky Certification; Tourists to be star struck
4,500 stars can be seen above Antelope, 80 miles south of The Dalles. The city is pursuing a Dark Sky Certification with the intent of drawing sky watchers who want to see the Milky Way free of artificial lights that is so prominent in larger cities.
By Phil Brady, Wasco County Commissioner
Phil Brady
The Dalles, Ore., March 23, 2024 — The City of Antelope is poised to become the first Dark Sky Certified city in Oregon.
To understand what this means, it is helpful to think about what the night sky looks like from a big city like Portland. Only about 40 stars stand out in their sky even on a clear night. Over 80% of the world’s population lives under light-polluted skies like Portland.
In contrast, a person in Antelope can see 4500 stars.
It’s sad, but many people never get to see the stunning majesty of the millions of stars in the Milky Way, or the orb of the Andromeda Galaxy, the most distant object one can see without a telescope.
Capitalizing on their night sky will become a means for Antelope to attract tourists who are amateur astronomers, star gazers, and astrophotographers. The Dark Sky Certification will enable Antelope to offer programs that would be engaging to both youth and adults and ultimately be a means for accessing funding opportunities to enhance local amenities and in particular maintain the Antelope Community Center which will celebrate 100 years in 2025.
After the Antelope City Council enacted the lighting regulations on February 8th, Brandie McNamee commented “Dark sky is going to open doors for to this community; positive change, opportunities for our children, and sustainability for the Community Center. To see the Community Center regularly being used is our hope.”
In addition to blocking out stars, light pollution has been found to have adverse effects on plants, wildlife and humans. Birds, for example, are attracted to lighted locations even though these locations may not be a good environment for them. Likewise, many insects are drawn to lighted areas which may separate them from their home environments. Anyone who works night shifts can attest that human sleep cycles are naturally attuned to day and night cycles. Cycles are interrupted if a bedroom is illuminated by artificial light.
With these concerns in mind, cities like Flagstaff and Tucson have enacted ordinances regulating outside lighting. Closer to home, Mosier and Goldendale are also considering adopting dark sky lighting ordinances. While these measures will protect their night sky from becoming more polluted, Antelope already has a sky so dark that astronomers rate it close to the best in the world.
Several residents attended the meeting and complained that four street lights had been turned off out of 14 total lights. The city council explained that these particular lights needed to be shut off while a representative of DarkSky International measured the degree of darkness. The council hopes to replace the streetlights with new ones that meet Dark Sky standards as soon as possible.
Antelope Mayor Sherrie Jamison celebrated the new moment in Antelope by speaking of the future.
“The reason we are pursuing Dark Sky Certification is because we don’t want to be known as the place where the Rajneesh thing happened. We are greater than that.”
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