Meet Our Principal Consultant

John Barentine, Ph.D.

John is an Arizona native and comes from the “dark side” of science — professional astronomy. He grew up in Phoenix and was involved in amateur astronomy there from grade school. Later, he attended the University of Arizona, beginning research in jobs at the National Optical Astronomy Observatories and National Solar Observatory headquarters in Tucson. From 2001-06 he was on the staff of Apache Point Observatory in New Mexico, serving first as an observing specialist on the Astrophysical Research Consortium 3.5-meter telescope and then as an observer for the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. John is the author of three books on the history of astronomy, The Lost Constellations, Uncharted Constellations, and Mystery of the Ashen Light of Venus. The asteroid (14505) Barentine is named in his honor. ​

He obtained a master’s degree in physics at Colorado State University and a master’s and Ph.D. in astronomy at the University of Texas at Austin. John has contributed to science in fields ranging from solar physics to galaxy evolution while helping develop hardware for ground-based and aircraft-borne astronomy. Throughout his career, he has been involved in education and outreach efforts to help increase the public understanding of science.

John formerly served as the International Dark Sky Places Program Manager, Director of Public Policy and Director of Conservation for DarkSky International in Tucson, Arizona. His current and former professional memberships and affiliations include:

• American Astronomical Society Committee on Light Pollution, Radio Interference and Space Debris

• International Astronomical Union Inter-Division Commission on Protection of Existing and Potential Observatory Sites organizing committee
• Royal Astronomical Society fellow
• ​Illuminating Engineering Society Outdoor Nighttime Environment Committee advisory member
• International Union for Conservation of Nature Dark Skies Advisory Group
• Steering Committee, Colorado Plateau Dark Sky Cooperative

John's expertise in dark skies ranges widely:

• Conservation. He has a deep knowledge of conservation practices gained from managing the International Dark Sky Places Program. During his five-year tenure in the role, program output increased by over 400%. He worked actively with land management agencies such as the U.S. National Park Service and UK National Parks to establish dark-sky conservation best practices and support the nascent community of dark-sky conservation professionals.
• Policy. His background in outdoor lighting public policy runs similarly deep. He has advised officials on levels ranging from municipalities to central/national governments and federations such as the European Union, testified before various councils, and written both model policies and enacted language. 
• Outdoor Lighting. He has a breadth of understanding of lighting technical concepts, from human vision science to radiometry/photometry to engineering challenges. This understanding supports and advances both conservation and policy goals.
• Science​. Lastly, he is a published scientist working in the field of light pollution and dark-sky studies whose work is widely recognized in the global research community. In 2023 he won the DarkSky International Galileo Award, given "in recognition of outstanding achievements in research or academic work on light pollution over a multiple-year period". See a list of his recent publications below.

John's recent publications

• Barentine, J., Kocifaj, M., and Wallner, S. (2023). Towards future challenges in the measurement and modelling of night sky brightness. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, stad3538. doi:10.1093/mnras/stad3538
• Barentine, J., Heim, J., Venkatesan, A., Lowenthal, J., Kocifaj, M., & Bará, S. (2023). Aggregate Effects of Proliferating LEO Objects and Implications for Astronomical Data Lost in the Noise. Nature Astronomy, 7, 252-258. doi:10.1038/s41550-023-01904-2
• Barentine, J. (2022). Night Sky Brightness Measurement, Quality Assessment and Monitoring. Nature Astronomy​, 6, 1120-1132. doi:10.1038/s41550-022-01756-2
• Barentine, J., Heim, J., Venkatesan, A., Lowenthal, J., Vidaurri, M. (2022). Re-imagining Near-Earth Space Policy in a Post-COVID World. Virginia Policy Review, 15(1), 58-86. doi:10.5281/zenodo.6903582.
• Kocifaj, M., & Barentine, J. (2021). Air pollution mitigation can reduce the brightness of the night sky in and near cities. Nature Scientific Reports, 11:14622. doi:10.1038/s41598-021-94241-1.
• Barentine, J., et al. (2021). A Case for a New Satellite Mission for Remote Sensing of Night Lights. Remote Sensing, rs13122294. doi:10.3390/rs13122294.
• Barentine, J. (2020) Who speaks for the night? The regulation of light pollution in the ‘Rights of Nature’ legal framework. International Journal of Sustainable Lighting, 22(2), 28-36.
• Barentine, J., et al. (2020). Recovering the city street lighting fraction from skyglow measurements in a large-scale municipal dimming experiment. Journal of Quantitative Spectroscopy and Radiative Transfer, 253, 107120. doi:10.1016/j.jqsrt.2020.107120.​