Resource at Risk: Can Downeast Maine save its dark skies?
Seventy-seven-year old David Westphal of Somesville remembers the first time as a child when he saw a sky milky with stars. “It was just awe and wonder,” he recalled. Growing up in rural Minnesota, Westphal didn’t know dark skies were rare; he only realized their value years later after traveling. Such experience helps him appreciate the sky outside his Mount Desert Island home all the more. Downeast Maine has one of the last stretches of good stargazing land on the East Coast. “Most of us who come to Maine are taken by…these beautiful night skies,” Westphal said. Westphal is part of the non-profit Island Astronomy Institute, which wants to preserve MDI’s dark skies for future generations. “We realize it disappears soon when you have light pollution,” Westphal said. Light pollution is glare from electric light that interferes with the ability to see stars. Much of that glare is preventable with properly shielded light installations; the International Dark Sky Association estimates sh
