This page is a compendium of dark-sky resources from around the web intended as a one-stop shop for various how-tos, models, guidance, etc. We link back to the original source wherever possible.
Education and Advocacy Organizations
Also, check out our UK friends at Darkscape Consulting!
Outdoor Lighting Know-How
Bob Crelin's good/bad lighting diagram
|
Utah Community Development Office Dark Sky Assessment Guide
IDA Home Lighting Assessment flow chart
|
Mont Mégantic International Dark Sky Reserve Lighting Guide / Guide de L’éclairage
(French / Français) |
Lamp spectral power distribution database: A source for spectral power distribution (SPD) files for lighting calculations
Lighting calculators & calculations: Calculators for converting between various lighting metrics
Lamp spectrum and light pollution (Flagstaff Dark Skies Coalition): An informative discussion of how different light sources influence skyglow
IDA Fixture Seal of Approval Program: "Provides objective, third-party certification for luminaires that minimize glare, reduce light trespass, and don’t pollute the night sky". Includes a searchable database of lighting products.
Lighting calculators & calculations: Calculators for converting between various lighting metrics
Lamp spectrum and light pollution (Flagstaff Dark Skies Coalition): An informative discussion of how different light sources influence skyglow
IDA Fixture Seal of Approval Program: "Provides objective, third-party certification for luminaires that minimize glare, reduce light trespass, and don’t pollute the night sky". Includes a searchable database of lighting products.
Lighting Policy
IDA-IES Model Lighting Ordinance
|
Online Maps
lightpollutionmap.info: An interactive map serving satellite data from the VIIRS Day-Night Band and the New World Atlas of Artificial Night Sky Brightness
|
Radiance Light Trends: Allows the user to examine changes in nighttime light emissions (nearly) worldwide, from 1992 through the past month
|
Sky Brightness VIIRS -
Time Series Inspector: Serves time series plots of satellite-detected nighttime radiance for any point on the ground |
VIIRS DNB Nighttime Imagery: Global nighttime composite images for any date in the past three months
|
David Lorenz's Light Pollution Atlas 2020: An interactive global map showing values of the Bortle Scale predicted from World Atlas of the Artificial Night Sky Brightness data
|
Dark-Sky Conservation
Dark-sky certification programs
IDA International Dark Sky Places
Royal Astronomical Society of Canada Dark-Sky Sites
Starlight Foundation
IDA International Dark Sky Places
Royal Astronomical Society of Canada Dark-Sky Sites
Starlight Foundation
Utah Community Development Office
Dark Sky Planning Guidance and Best Practices: An Introduction for Local Leaders |
U.S. Bureau of Land Management Technical Note 457, Night Sky and Dark Environments: Best Management Practices for Artificial
Light at Night on BLM-Managed Lands |
International Union for the Conservation of Nature Best Practice Protected Area Guidelines Series: "The World At Night: Preserving Natural Darkness for Heritage Conservation and Night Sky Appreciation"
|
How to conduct a sky quality survey: IDA guidance document describing ways to measure night sky quality over territories of various sizes
Note: The use of organizational names, logos and products on this page does not imply endorsement.