Hugh Pickens writes "Stargazing skies all over the world are disappearing, as the sky above New York City is Class 9 on the Bortle ranking and stars and stripes suburban skies are customarily Class 5, 6, or 7. But some places are making an effort to efficiency their skywatching heritage as Exmoor subject Park was granted International Dark-Sky Reserve status in remembrance day and people in the Exmoor town of Dulverton were challenged to switch off their lights as part of the BBC's Stargazing Live, demonstrating that you don't need special equipment to see the stars more clearly, if you have a decent pair of binoculars. 'The whole idea is to show that even a small town, which is still quite dark, can give off quite a lot of light,' says astronomer Mark Thompson. The event in Dulverton gained a lot of support from local society and businesses. 'It needed a bit of company to get everyone to say yes,' says town mayor Chris Nelder. 'We want people to just enjoy the night sky, to spring the fact we have them and to look after them,' adds Claire O'Connor from Exmoor national Park Authority."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

More: - Continued here