Jakarta –
About 1,350 km from Brisbane, Australia, there is a city that is deliberately made darker. Uniquely, this method is expected to invite more people to come to visit. I wonder why?
Reported by ABC, the city of Winton in Queensland was apparently designed to be a place for people to observe the night sky without light pollution. In this city, people can see many stars and even photograph nebulae or giant clouds in the Milky Way, aka the Milky Way Galaxy.
The city even received international dark sky certification for its achievements. Winton is the second location in Australia and the first in Queensland to achieve this certification, after Carrickalinga in South Australia.
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Making the City Darker
In order to obtain an official certificate as an area with sufficiently dark skies, the city changed the street lights with warmer colored bulbs. Illuminated trademark boards and unprotected lamps are also restricted.
Local residents are also involved to support this goal. In this case, residents are invited to install house lighting that is more friendly to the night sky.
In addition, outdoor lighting policies are also further regulated in Winton. Future development in this city is also limited.
International Dark Sky Places Program Manager, Amber Harrison, said dark sky certification is an application process by communities committed to protecting the night sky at the city or county level.
By passing certification, Winton’s night sky shows the broad support of its citizens for preserving the city’s skies.
“It does not necessarily guarantee that certain night sky phenomena will be visible at this location, but for the most part the sky is usually quite dark,” he explained.
Winton itself was originally known as the “Dinosaur Capital” of Australia because of the many paleontological finds in outback Queensland, complete with museum. As an outback (inland) area, this area is wide and dry, in contrast to Australia’s big cities which are located on the coast, busy with people, attractions and lots of light at night.
Winton resident Makita Caston said that as someone who grew up in a coastal area, he was fascinated by Winton’s unique inland sky.
“To be able to see it with the naked eye, see nebulae, and see things that are far beyond our reach is something extraordinary,” he said.
“There are so many stars. It’s really extraordinary,” he added.
Mayor of Winton Shire Council, Cathy White, said they had been carrying out this certification effort for the last 3 years. According to him, this achievement would not have happened without the support of the community.
“We were very happy and felt like we were in heaven,” he said.
The Winton skyline is expected to attract more people from various regions, including abroad, to travel to enjoy the view of the sky.
“Now we have got this certificate and we will be able to market it abroad,” he said.
(tw/nw)
