Kristina Bergen | Special to the Fitzhugh
April 2021 marks the ten-year anniversary since Jasper National Park officially became a Dark Sky Preserve.
To properly fete this momentous occasion, the Jasper Planetarium is planning a year-long celebration of dark sky events with local partners.
First created in the 1990s, dark sky preserves are stargazing “eco-preserves” where local rules and bylaws “defend” the night from urban light pollution.
After the 2009 UNESCO Year of Astronomy, the number of dark sky preserves in the world grew from a handful to dozens and dozens – half of which are now in Canada. The two largest, Wood Buffalo and Jasper, comprise more protected astronomy space than all the other dark sky parks in the world combined.
If you ever wondered how this initiative all started in Jasper, the idea came to life at the Whistle Stop Pub in March 2010.
Over lunch at the Stop, Peter McMahon, who is now manager of the Jasper Planetarium, met with Gloria Keyes-Brady, the Park’s interpretation coordinator at the time. On his way home to Ontario after the Vancouver Olympics, McMahon was telling Gloria about his work documenting Canada’s dark sky preserves for SkyNews magazine.
Comparing Jasper’s pristine night skies to her earliest memories of stargazing on the family farm near Edson, Keyes-Brady knew the town had something special.
“It feels as if the stars are single-handedly lighting up the Earth,” she said. “But something like this is meant to be given away. Sharing our night sky is one of the untapped wonders the Rockies can offer.”
And that’s when the magic happened.
Rogier Gruys and his team from Parks spent the next six months photographing and taking light meter readings for the dark sky preserve application required by the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada.
The town gave a thumbs-up to installing dark sky lighting to reduce light pollution in parts of downtown Jasper, along Connaught Drive, and in some areas of Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge where the planetarium is now located.
Jasper Field Unit head interpreter Brian Catto created the bulk of the actual astronomy interpretive programming offered by Parks.
And a dedicated group of enthusiastic locals, including members of the Edmonton Centre of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada and former Tourism Jasper CEO Maggie Davison, started the wildly successful Jasper Dark Sky Festival.
In addition to the 2021 Festival and nightly tours at The Jasper Planetarium, some of the other activities throughout this Decade of Dark Skies will include:
- ‘Peaknics’ Under The Stars, with Jasper Food Tours
- Supermoon, meteor shower and Solstice viewing
- Dinner & telescopes on a mountaintop, at Jasper Skytram
- ‘Stargazing In Style’ in SunDog Tours’ new open-top circa 1930s ‘Jammer’ bus
- special lakeside dining-and-stargazing experiences beyond the Jasper town site
- two ALL NEW planetarium dome experiences
- An Evening In Jasper LIVE (Virtual Visit) Zoom tours
With a decade of showcasing Jasper’s dark skies in the rear-view mirror of our spaceship Earth, an entire years’ worth of activities await the next bunch of “wilderness astronomers” coming to the park in search of the ultimate cosmic vistas!
Kristina Bergen is Manager of Strategic Initiatives for The Jasper Planetarium. She thinks the Whistle Stop Pub should post a sign that says “Birthplace of Jasper Dark Sky Preserve”.
For more details on Jasper's Decade of Dark Skies, check out DecadeOfDarkSkies.com
