The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (RASC) has designated Jasper National Park as the largest dark sky preserve in the world, meaning that the view of the cosmos from here will be indefinitely protected from the encroachment of light pollution.

In order to achieve such status, Parks Canada and the Municipality of Jasper had to commit to strict guidelines to mitigate the impact of artificial light on the visibility of the stars and other heavenly bodies throughout more than 11,000 square kilometres of park land.

The move was welcomed by RASC president Mary Lou Whitehorne not only as a way of maintaining one more part of the planet as an excellent site for astronomical observation, but also as a tool for educating and engaging the public, which is a key part of the society’s mission.

“To me it is the most rewarding, most exciting, most powerful partnership that we could possibly have,” Whitehorne said during a event held at Maligne Lake on Oct. 1 to celebrate the new designation.

“The potential for education, for wonderful experience is unbelievable when you think of the millions and millions of people who come through national parks in Canada. They’re going to have a tremendous experience here.”

The designation also offers an opportunity for Jasper to add one more item to its long list of natural wonders, noted Maggie Davison, CEO of Tourism Jasper. To that end, a new event, the Jasper Dark Sky Festival, will take place Oct. 21-24 and feature a variety of entertainment and educational events centred around astronomy.

“It is actually our hope that this festival will become an annual celebration that will draw visitors to Jasper during our October shoulder season,” Davison said.

While it is unusual to have a town the size of Jasper in the middle of dark sky preserve, the RASC decided the impact of artificial lights within the townsite was relatively minimal on the overall night sky within the national park. The RASC is also preparing a report which will recommend changes to reduce that impact and Mayor Richard Ireland said the municipality is on board with the goal of minimizing the amount of light directed skywards.

Ireland added that maintaining a dark site in Jasper fits well with the nature of the community and “reflects the really special character of our community – a character forged in response to our location, embedded as we are within a national park and within this exceptional landscape.”

One of the best ways to reduce light pollution in town is through the use of “full cutoff” lighting fixtures, noted Rogier Gruys, a product development specialist with Jasper National Park’s visitor experience team.

“With full cutoff lighting all the lights shine straight down,” he said. “None of the light is wasted ... so the money spent in putting on a light is actually spent on lighting a pathway or the area that you really want to light.”

Gruys was instrumental in helping Jasper receive the dark sky designation and continues to work with the RASC on reducing light pollution within the park. He said a recent examination of the town’s existing light fixtures was encouraging.

“We went around on Thursday and Friday (last week) and we found the situation is actually quite a bit better than we thought it was,” he said. “Yes, there are a lot of lights but they’re not all shining up into the sky.”

RASC member Dr. Warren Finlay said that, on average, roughly 30 per cent of light from streetlights shines upwards and is wasted, costing a city the size of Edmonton about $2 million a year in unnecessary energy bills.

“These are not small numbers,” Finlay said. “Light pollution is having a significant economic impact.”

Recent studies have also revealed potentially hazardous health effects resulting from excess light, Finlay noted. Several studies have found a link between exposure to artificial light at night with certain types of cancer, for example. Nighttime light has also been linked to lower air quality, as the light destroys naturally occurring nitrate radicals in the atmosphere which help break down certain forms of air pollution such as ground-level ozone, also known as smog.

Economics and health aside, for Finlay the truly compelling reasons for reducing light pollution are more a matter of esthetics, even spirituality.

“Unfortunately, the majority of Canadians don’t see the night sky in its natural state, they don’t see the Milky Way and all the beauty of it, because of light pollution,” he said. “Under a truly dark sky, when you turn around and face away from the Milky Way, you cast a very, very light shadow and you can actually see the shadow. And you’re getting the shadow from billions of stars. It’s an amazing, amazing experience and you can only experience that from a truly dark site.”

“It’s a very, very spiritual experience,” he added.

The RASC hopes the partnership with Jasper will help bring that experience to more people. Whitehorn said it’s a “match made in heaven” as the popularity of the park combined with its existing infrastructure of roads, trails, accommodation and amenities will open up the night sky – “as it was meant to be seen” – to large numbers of visitors from Canada and abroad.

“They’re going to learn things. They’re going to take it home. And taking it home is taking it home around the world,” she said. “What better way? There is no better way. It can’t possibly get any better than that.”

More information about Jasper as a dark sky preserve can be found at www.jasperdarksky.org and details about the upcoming Jasper Dark Sky Festival are available a www.jasperdarkskyfest.com