What are you doing this long (dark sky) weekend?
A designation that set a precedent
In 2016, Warrumbungle National Park became Australia’s first International Dark Sky Park.
At the time, the Warrumbungle National Park Team took a chance. There was no Australian precedent to follow, but the region recognised that darkness was something worth protecting — not only for astronomy, but for nature, community and tourism.
That decision helped establish dark sky place-making in Australia and demonstrated that a naturally dark night could become part of a destination’s identity.
Ten years later, the Warrumbungles have something to be genuinely proud of. Awareness of light pollution has grown enormously over the past decade, as has interest in travelling specifically to experience dark skies.
Visitors now seek out places where they can see the Milky Way, photograph the stars, visit observatories and simply experience what a naturally dark night feels like.
The Warrumbungles helped set that movement in motion in Australia. The designation created opportunities for tourism and education while reinforcing the importance of protecting the very asset people are travelling to experience.
Ten years after the Warrumbungles took a chance on becoming Australia’s first International Dark Sky Park, visitors can spend a new-moon weekend under those same skies — celebrating astronomy, contributing to citizen science and experiencing for themselves why darkness is something worth protecting.
This October long weekend is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate that achievement through StarFest, with astronomy activities centred around Coonabarabran and Siding Spring Observatory.
The Bok Lecture
One of the highlights will be the annual Bok Lecture, named in honour of astronomer Bart Bok, an important figure in the development of Australian astronomy.
The lecture is run by Warrumbungle National Park in partnership with the Warrumbungle Dark Sky Park Committee, reflecting the strong connection between astronomy, conservation and the local community.
This year’s special speaker is Professor Chris Tinney, bringing contemporary astronomical research together with the region’s long history of looking up.
The Bok Lecture also has a lovely connection with the Coonabarabran community and the role local people have played in helping maintain dark skies around one of Australia’s most important astronomical precincts.
Become a citizen scientist
There will also be an opportunity during the Bok Lecture to take part in Globe at Night, the international citizen-science program that helps measure light pollution around the world.
Participants simply observe the night sky, compare what they can see with a series of star charts and submit their observation. Those individual observations become part of a much larger global dataset, helping researchers track where the night sky is getting brighter and where darkness is being retained.
This year, the activity also connects with a group of University of Melbourne students, who are using Globe at Night as part of a science communication project to encourage more people to understand, measure and talk about light pollution. Their work is a great example of how citizen science can bridge the gap between research and the wider community: taking a complex environmental issue and turning it into something people can see, experience and contribute to themselves.
That is one of the strengths of Globe at Night. You don’t need specialist equipment or astronomy knowledge. You simply need to go outside, let your eyes adjust, look up and record what you can see.
It is a simple activity with a much bigger purpose: helping us understand how our night skies are changing while giving people a direct connection to the issue of light pollution.
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