INTERNATIONAL DARK SKY WEEK

Presented by the International Dark-Sky Association

Celebrate the night – virtually!

April 19-26, 2020

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Video and photography by Bettymaya Foott

INTERNATIONAL DARK SKY WEEK

International Dark Sky Week is a weeklong celebration of the night. This year, IDA is encouraging people around the world to come together online to celebrate the night and engage with authors, creators, scientists, and educators whose works have been vital to the movement to protect the night from light pollution.

Enjoy short and engaging videos each day, and check out our nighttime activities to do at home!

Follow the schedule on YouTube

Enjoy nighttime activities from home

Celebrate our Shared Heritage

The night sky is an important part of our human heritage. Learn about how cultures around the world, and across time, saw their place in the stars.

Explore the Universe

Learn all about why and how we look out at the universe and find out about some of the interesting discoveries that have come from the study of astronomy through the ages.

Learn About Life in the Dark

For many critters, life carries on in the dark while the rest of us are asleep. Follow along to learn the secrets of life in the dark.

Protect the Night

When used indiscriminately, outdoor lighting can have a negative impact. Learn simple ways you can protect the night from home.

FEATURED PRESENTERS

Avalon C.S. Owens

Avalon C.S. Owens is passionate about lights -- living lights, especially bioluminescent firefly beetles, and the artificial light that humans impose on the environment. As a Ph.D. candidate in Biology at Tufts University, Avalon is working to better our understanding...

Fabio Falchi

Fabio Falchi, physicist, works on light pollution for more than 25 years. He is one of the authors of the First Atlas of Artificial Night Sky Brightness, published in 2001 on the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, and leaded the group of scientists...

Ashley Pipkin

Ashley Pipkin works for the Natural Sounds and Night Skies Division of the National Park Service (NPS). She works closely with parks throughout the Pacific West Region of the NPS to protect and better understand the night sky resource and share its incredible value...

Kelly Beatty

People imagine that astronomy has to be hard, that you need a PHd to study the cosmos. But what makes the study of the stars so wonderful is easily explained. Join Kelly Beatty, senior editor from Sky & Telescope Magazine to talk about whats in the night sky now,...

Samuel Challeat

Born in 1982, Samuel Challéat hold a PhD in geography, is a guest researcher at the Géode laboratory (Geography of the environment, CNRS-University of Toulouse 2, France) and coordinator of the Renoir research group (Nocturnal environmental resources and territories)....

Jeff Bennett – Scale of the Universe

Author/astrophysicist Jeffrey Bennett has taught at every level from pre-school through graduate school and is now a full-time writer/speaker/educator focusing on student and public understanding of math and science. He is the lead author of best-selling college...

AroHa Rawson

Aroha Rawson Tīhei mauri ora! Ko Ranginui te rangipāpā, ko Papatūānuku te māmā oneone. Ko Te Moana Nui a Kiwa te Moana, ko Tākitimu, Mataatua, Te Arawa me Tainui ōku waka. Ko Aroha Rawson toku ingōa. Aroha comes from Aotearoa (New Zealand) and has been a keen...

Richard Louv

Richard Louv is a journalist and author of ten books, including Our Wild Calling: How Connecting With Animals Can Transform Our Lives - And Save Theirs, Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder. His books have been translated and...

Babak Tafreshi

Babak Tafreshi is an award winning photographer working with the National Geographic, a master of night-time photography and nightscape videos. He used the context of night sky to bridge Earth and sky, art and science, cultures and time. He is also a science...

IDA protects the night from light pollution

Artificial light at night has revolutionized the way we live and work outdoors, but it has come at a price. When used indiscriminately, outdoor lighting can disrupt wildlife, impact human health, waste money and energy, contribute to climate change, and block our view of the universe.

The International Dark-Sky Association promotes win-win solutions that allow people to appreciate dark, star-filled skies while enjoying the benefits of responsible outdoor lighting.