Preserving Oregon's Dark Night Skies by Mike McKeag
Dark night skies are the natural resource amateur astronomers require to pursue their avocation. Oregon is currently blessed with a relative abundance of this resource and consequently Oregon is home to one of the largest and most active astronomy clubs in the nation, Rose City Astronomers. However, continued availability of this resource is not guaranteed, and in fact there is evidence it is diminishing at an alarming rate. We will explore this evidence, ongoing efforts to monitor night sky quality across Oregon and document trends over time, and opportunities for protecting Oregon’s dark night skies through establishment of IDA-certified dark sky places, public education, changes in outdoor lighting practices and public policy. Specific opportunities for taking an active part in protecting the natural resource your hobby depends on will be suggested.
About Mike McKeag
Mike retired after 30 years as an electron microscopist in the semiconductor process development team at Intel, with interests spanning the scale range from nanometers to light-years. He has been an amateur photographer since childhood, an amateur astronomer and RCA member since a couple of decades ago, a dark skies advocate since helping organize the 2016 Gorge Night Sky Conference, and an IDA Delegate since 2018. Mike is co-founder, director, and a board member of IDA Oregon, the Oregon chapter of the International Dark-Sky Association. He is chronically in pursuit of too many irresistible interests at once. Life is short, the universe in infinite.
