Astronomy & Star Gazing
The ranch sits at 7000ft with little humidity and virtually no lights. This makes it the perfect place for observing. While the Okie-Tex Star Party is nationally famous for its dark skies location in the Oklahoma Panhandle. Kiowa Valley Ranch is over 2000’ higher with lower humidity. It is nearly a perfect place to enjoy the skies.
What Is Natural Lightscape?
http://www.nps.gov/yose/naturescience/dark-night-sky.htm
A “natural lightscape,” such as a dark night sky, is an environment that is undisturbed by light and air pollution. Dark night skies have natural, cultural, and scenic importance. Wildlife is impacted by light pollution because animals often depend on darkness in order to hunt, conceal their location, navigate, or reproduce. For nocturnal animals, light pollution also means habitat disruption. Additionally, many species have far more sensitive vision than humans. Plants are affected by artificial light because it disrupts their natural cycles. Dark night skies are also culturally important because they are a resource common to all cultures on Earth, and are a metaphor for countless myths and religions. They have inspired innumerable works of art, literature, and connections to the cosmos. Natural lightscapes, including dark night skies, are a scenic resource integral to many people’s Yosemite experience. Currently, two-thirds of Americans cannot see the Milky Way from their backyard, and if current light pollution trends continue, there will be almost no dark skies left in the contiguous United States by 2025.
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