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Can’t go to space? Try Idaho. Last year, a 1,400-sq.-mi. region in the central part of the state became the first site in the U.S. and only the 12th in the world to be named a Dark Sky Reserve by ... ||||| Idaho Dims The Lights For One Of The Best Night Skies Anywhere 
  
 Enlarge this image toggle caption Matt Guilhem/Boise State Public Radio Matt Guilhem/Boise State Public Radio 
  
 In a high mountain valley in central Idaho over 6,000 feet in elevation, the last hint of a glow from sun fades in the western sky. The conditions are perfect as Steve Botti, an astronomy enthusiast and city councilman for the tiny town of Stanley, holds his sky quality meter to the heavens. There are no clouds, and the moon has dipped behind the craggy Sawtooth Mountains as he assesses the darkness of the sky with the little device that looks like a pager. 
  
 His arm extended and his head snugly wrapped in a beanie, Botti says, "A reading of 21.75 or higher is considered by the dark sky association to be exceptionally dark." 
  
 On a clear night here you can see the purple cloud of the Milky Way stretched across the sky. The rare sight is possible because people are making an effort to keep the night sky dark. Dark enough, they hope, to earn a seal of approval from the International Dark-Sky Association. 
  
 Botti pushes a button and the device momentarily pauses; then, several computer beeps sound. A number in red appears on the small machine's display. "21.76!" Botti announces. 
  
 With the darkest dark being 22 magnitudes per square arc second, the sky just outside town is pristine. The region surrounding the outpost would be part of a proposed Central Idaho Dark Sky Reserve — the first of its kind in the U.S. 
  
 Botti has been leading the charge for the Idaho reserve for two years. Standing under the sea of twinkling stars, he says to get a similar view, you'd have to travel — far. 
  
 "Well, there's a dark sky reserve in Namibia in southern Africa, which is very remote," he says. "It's a desert region, no cities close by." 
  
 It's one of just 11 reserves around the world recognized for the quality and depth of the darkness. Some of the others are in New Zealand, the United Kingdom and Germany. 
  
 Out of the five categories the International Dark-Sky Association recognizes, John Barentine, the association's program manager, says a reserve is the most difficult status to achieve. The Arizona-based group vets and credentials exceptionally dark locales. 
  
 In the case of central Idaho's bid for a reserve, Barentine didn't seek out the people in one of the darkest places left in the Lower 48 states. 
  
 "It was some folks from Stanley — they told me that they view the nighttime darkness, and you know, the ability to see the Milky Way, as something that is definitive of their part of the state and their part of the country," says Barentine. 
  
 Enlarge this image toggle caption Matt Guilhem/Boise State Public Radio Matt Guilhem/Boise State Public Radio 
  
 About 50 miles southeast of Stanley, on the other side of a high mountain pass, is Ketchum — a resort town that was also the final home of Ernest Hemingway. 
  
 After enacting its first ordinance to curb light pollution and protect the sky in 1999, Ketchum was recognized by the international association in October as an official Dark Sky Community. 
  
 When she is not the mayor of Ketchum, Nina Jonas is working away at the Asian street food restaurant she runs with her husband, who is the chef. As she begins prepping for the nightly wave of diners, Jonas ticks off some of the very specific criteria for the official Dark Sky Community recognition. 
  
 "Well, you can't have any light going straight up," she says, "so you have to have a cap on your light shining it down. Then you get into the argument of lumens, wattage, foot-candles, so ... brightness, let's just call it brightness. There's a brightness degree, and then there's also a color degree." 
  
 There are a lot of rules. 
  
 Leaving the local market with a few groceries on a chilly afternoon is Judy Berg. She and her husband have lived in Ketchum for 25 years. While it might seem burdensome, Berg says following the dark sky ordinance has become second nature to residents. 
  
 "Everybody seems to comply with it," Berg says. "I think the ones who don't are people who just move here and aren't familiar with it — haven't lived with it. When they realize how nice it is, then they're compliant." 
  
 The head of the city's planning and building department says during his three years on the job, the city hasn't issued a single citation for lights out of compliance. 
  
 Soon, all the paperwork and all the measurements that have gone in to applying for the seal of approval for central Idaho's star-streaked sky could pay off. A designated dark sky reserve could bring a whole new crowd of celestial tourists. The International Dark-Sky Association is expected to make a decision about central Idaho by the end of the year. |||||
– There are fewer than a dozen dark-sky reserves on Earth—places where the skies are so "exceptionally dark" that they receive the elite designation from the International Dark-Sky Association, attracting astronomy lovers from around the world. Now Idaho hopes to be the first US state to make it onto this list, with local activists vying for nearly 20 years to keep light pollution to a minimum and achieve this esteemed star-gazing status, NPR reports. "Here, in the heart of central Idaho, we see things differently," reads the website dedicated to the in-progress Central Idaho Dark Sky Reserve. "We've come to acknowledge that this pristine night sky is part of our heritage and worth preserving for our children and future generations." The resort town of Ketchum was made an IDSA Dark Sky Community in October, and since then efforts have ramped up to meet the ultimate goal of becoming the first US reserve. Toward that end, Ketchum and other nearby communities receive guidance on upping their chances via the Central Idaho Dark Sky Reserve site, which recommends residents reevaluate their existing lighting to make sure it's "dark sky friendly" and invite friends and neighbors to join the cause. The IDSA will reportedly decide by year's end whether the Idaho reserve is a go, but in the meantime, residents keep on keeping the lights out and the skies viewable. "Everybody seems to comply with it," says one local in Ketchum. "I think the ones who don't are people who just move here and aren't familiar with it. … When they realize how nice it is, then they're compliant."
Skriv en sammanfattning baserad på den här artikeln: Kan du inte åka till rymden? Försök med Idaho. Förra året, en 1 400-sq.-mi. Idaho Dims The Lights For One Of The Best Night Skies Anywhere Förstora denna bildtext Matt Guilhem/Boise State Public Radio Matt Guilhem/Boise State Public Radio I en hög bergsdal i centrala Idaho över 6.000 meter i höjd, den sista antydan till ett sken från solen bleknar på den västra himlen. Förhållandena är perfekta när Steve Botti, astronom och stadsfullmäktigeledamot för den lilla staden Stanley, håller sin himmelskvalitetsmätare mot himlen. Det finns inga moln, och månen har doppat sig bakom de galna Sawtoothbergen när han bedömer himlens mörker med den lilla apparaten som ser ut som en sökare. Hans arm förlängd och huvudet njuggt insvept i en mössa, säger Botti, "En läsning av 21,75 eller högre anses av den mörka himmelsföreningen vara exceptionellt mörk." En klar natt här kan man se Vintergatans purpurmoln sträcka sig över himlen. Den sällsynta synen är möjlig eftersom människor anstränger sig för att hålla natthimlen mörk. Mörk nog, hoppas de, för att förtjäna ett sigill av godkännande från Internationella Mörkskyförbundet. Botti trycker på en knapp och enheten pausar för ett ögonblick; sedan piper flera datorer ljud. Ett antal i rött syns på den lilla maskinens display. "21,76!" Botti tillkännager. Med det mörkaste mörker på 22 magnituder per kvadratbågsekund är himlen strax utanför staden orörd. Regionen som omger utposten skulle vara en del av ett föreslaget Central Idaho Dark Sky Reserve — den första i sitt slag i USA Botti har lett laddningen för Idahoreservatet i två år. Stående under havet av tindrande stjärnor, säger han för att få en liknande utsikt, måste man resa — långt. "Det finns ett mörkt himmelsreservat i Namibia i södra Afrika, som är mycket avlägset", säger han. "Det är en ökenregion, inga städer i närheten." Det är en av bara 11 reserver runt om i världen erkänd för kvaliteten och djupet av mörkret. Några av de andra finns i Nya Zeeland, Storbritannien och Tyskland. Av de fem kategorier som International Dark-Sky Association erkänner, säger John Barentine, föreningens programchef, att en reserv är den svåraste statusen att uppnå. De Arizona-baserade gruppveteranerna och kreditivbrev exceptionellt mörka lokalerna. När det gäller centrala Idahos bud på en reserv sökte Barentine inte upp folket på en av de mörkaste platser som fanns kvar i de lägre 48 staterna. "Det var några från Stanley — de berättade att de betraktar nattmörkret, och du vet, förmågan att se Vintergatan, som något som är definitivt av deras del av staten och deras del av landet", säger Barentine. Förstora denna bild toggle bildtext Matt Guilhem/Boise State Public Radio Matt Guilhem/Boise State Public Radio Ungefär 50 miles sydost om Stanley, på andra sidan av ett högt bergspass, är Ketchum — en ort stad som också var den sista hem för Ernest Hemingway. Efter att ha antagit sin första förordning för att stävja ljusföroreningar och skydda himlen 1999 erkändes Ketchum av den internationella föreningen i oktober som en officiell Dark Sky Community. När hon inte är Ketchums borgmästare arbetar Nina Jonas bort på den asiatiska gatumatrestaurangen hon driver tillsammans med sin man, som är kocken. När hon börjar förbereda sig för den nattliga vågen av matställen, så kryssar Jonas för några av de mycket specifika kriterierna för det officiella Dark Sky Community erkännande. "Nå, du kan inte ha något ljus som går rakt upp", säger hon, "så du måste ha en mössa på ditt ljus som lyser ner det. Sen kommer du in i argumentet om lumen, watt, fot-ljus, så ... ljusstyrka, låt oss bara kalla det ljusstyrka. Det finns en ljusstyrka grad, och sedan finns det också en färg grad. " Det finns många regler. Att lämna den lokala marknaden med några matvaror en kylig eftermiddag är Judy Berg. Hon och maken har bott i Ketchum i 25 år. Även om det kan tyckas betungande, säger Berg efter den mörka himlen förordningen har blivit andra natur för invånarna. "Alla verkar följa den", säger Berg. »Jag tror, att de, som inte äro människor, som bara flytta hit och inte känna till det — inte ha levat med det. När de inser hur trevligt det är, då är de medgörliga." Chefen för stadens planerings- och byggnadsavdelning säger under sina tre år på jobbet, att staden inte har utfärdat en enda citering för ljus av efterlevnad. Snart kan alla pappersarbete och alla mätningar som gjorts för att ansöka om godkännande för centrala Idahos stjärnbeströdda himmel löna sig. Ett utsett mörk himmelsreservat skulle kunna föra med sig en helt ny skara himmelska turister. International Dark-Sky Association förväntas fatta ett beslut om centrala Idaho i slutet av året. Â°°
Write a summary based on this article: Can't you go to space? Try Idaho. Last year, a 1,400-sq.-mi. Idaho Dims The Lights For One Of The Best Night Skies Anywhere Enlarge this caption Matt Guilhem/Boise State Public Radio Matt Guilhem/Boise State Public Radio In a high mountain valley in central Idaho over 6,000 metres in height, the last hint of a glow from the sun fades in the western sky. The conditions are perfect when Steve Botti, astronomer and city councillor for the small town of Stanley, holds his sky quality gauge towards the sky. There are no clouds, and the moon has dipped behind the mad Sawtooth Mountains as he assesses the darkness of the sky with the little device that looks like a seeker. His arm extended and his head nugget wrapped in a cap, Botti says, "A reading of 21.75 or higher is considered by the dark sky association to be exceptionally dark." On a clear night here you can see the purple cloud of the Milky Way stretching across the sky. The rare sight is possible because people are making an effort to keep the night sky dark. Dark enough, they hope, to earn a seal of approval from the International Darksky League. Botti presses a button and the device pauses for a moment; then several computers beep sound. A number in red can be seen on the small machine display. "21,76!" Botti announces. With the darkest darkness of 22 magnitudes per square arc second, the sky is just outside the city untouched. The region surrounding the outpost would be part of a proposed Central Idaho Dark Sky Reserve — the first of its kind in the United States Botti has been leading the charge for the Idaho Reserve for two years. Standing under the sea of twinkling stars, he says to get a similar view, one must travel — far. "There is a dark sky reserve in Namibia in southern Africa, which is very remote," he says. "It's a desert region, no towns nearby." It is one of just 11 reserves around the world recognized for the quality and depth of darkness. Some of the others are found in New Zealand, the United Kingdom and Germany. Of the five categories recognised by the International Dark-Sky Association, John Barentine, the association's program manager, says that a reserve is the most difficult status to achieve. The Arizona-based group veterans and credentials exceptionally dark premises. As for central Idaho's bid for a reserve, Barentine did not seek out the people in one of the darkest places left in the lower 48 states. "There were some from Stanley — they told me they view the night darkness, and you know, the ability to see the Milky Way, as something that is definitely of their part of the state and their part of the country," says Barentine. Enlarge this image toggle caption Matt Guilhem/Boise State Public Radio Matt Guilhem/Boise State Public Radio Approximately 50 miles southeast of Stanley, on the other side of a high mountain pass, is Ketchum — a town town that was also the last home of Ernest Hemingway. After adopting its first ordinance to curb light pollution and protect the sky in 1999, Ketchum was recognized by the International Association in October as an official Dark Sky Community. When she is not Ketchum's mayor, Nina Jonas works away at the Asian street food restaurant she runs with her husband, who is the chef. As she begins preparing for the nightly wave of diners, Jonas cruises for some of the very specific criteria for the official Dark Sky Community recognition. "Well, you can't have any light going straight up," she says, "so you have to have a cap on your light that lights it down. Then you enter the argument of lumen, watt, foot-light, so... brightness, let's just call it brightness. There is a brightness degree, and then there is also a color degree." There are a lot of rules. Leaving the local market with some groceries on a chilly afternoon is Judy Berg. She and her husband have lived in Ketchum for 25 years. Although it may seem burdensome, Berg, after the dark sky, says the ordinance has become second nature to residents. "Everyone seems to be following it," Berg says. "I think those who are not human beings who just move here and do not know it — have not lived with it. When they realize how nice it is, then they are compliant." The head of the city's planning and building department says in his three years at work, that the city has not issued a single citation for light of compliance. Soon all the paperwork and measurements made to apply for approval for the starry skies of central Idaho will pay off. A designated dark sky reserve could bring a whole new crowd of heavenly tourists. The International Dark-Sky Association is expected to make a decision on central Idaho by the end of the year. <unk>
– Det finns färre än ett dussin mörka himmelsreserver på Jorden – platser där himlen är så "utomordentligt mörk" att de får elitbeteckningen från International Dark-Sky Association, som lockar astronomiälskare från hela världen. Nu hoppas Idaho att bli den första amerikanska staten att ta sig in på denna lista, med lokala aktivister som tävlar i nästan 20 år för att hålla ljusföroreningarna till ett minimum och uppnå denna aktade stjärnskådningsstatus, NPR rapporterar. "Här, i hjärtat av centrala Idaho, ser vi saker annorlunda," läser webbplatsen tillägnad den pågående centrala Idaho Dark Sky Reserve. "Vi har kommit att erkänna att denna orörda natthimmel är en del av vårt arv och värt att bevara för våra barn och framtida generationer." Orten staden Ketchum gjordes en IDSA Dark Sky Community i oktober, och sedan dess har ansträngningarna ökat för att uppfylla det slutliga målet att bli den första amerikanska reserven. Mot den bakgrunden får Ketchum och andra närliggande samhällen vägledning om hur de kan öka sina chanser via Central Idaho Dark Sky Reserve, som rekommenderar invånarna att omvärdera sin befintliga belysning för att se till att det är "mörk himmelsvänligt" och bjuda in vänner och grannar att gå med i saken. IDSA kommer enligt uppgift att vid årets slut avgöra om Idaho-reservatet är igång, men under tiden fortsätter invånarna att hålla ljuset släckt och himlen synlig. "Alla verkar följa den", säger en lokal i Ketchum. "Jag tror att de som inte är människor som bara flyttar hit och inte är bekanta med det. ...när de inser hur trevligt det är, då är de medgörliga."
“There are fewer than a dozen dark sky reserves on Earth – places where the sky is so “excellently dark” that they get the elite designation from the International Dark-Sky Association, which attracts astronomy lovers from all over the world. Now Idaho hopes to become the first U.S. state to enter this list, with local activists competing for nearly 20 years to keep the light pollution to a minimum and achieve this esteemed star-watching status, NPR reports. "Here, in the heart of central Idaho, we see things differently," reads the website dedicated to the ongoing central Idaho Dark Sky Reserve. "We have come to admit that this untouched night sky is part of our heritage and worth preserving for our children and future generations." The town of Ketchum was made an IDSA Dark Sky Community in October, and since then efforts have increased to meet the final goal of becoming the first U.S. reserve. Against that background, Ketchum and other nearby communities are given guidance on how to increase their chances via the Central Idaho Dark Sky Reserve, which recommends residents to re-evaluate their existing lighting to ensure that it is "dark sky friendly" and invite friends and neighbors to join the cause. IDSA will reportedly determine by the end of the year whether the Idaho reservation is running, but meanwhile residents continue to keep the lights out and the sky visible. "Everyone seems to be following it," says a venue in Ketchum. "I think those who are not people who just move here and are not familiar with it. ...when they realize how nice it is, then they are compliant."