Citizen astronomers rally to protect Mexico’s night sky for the next generation

JOYA-LA BARRETA ECOLOGICAL PARK, Mexico (AP) — As night time descended, a rumble of frogs stuffed the air on this park exterior the central Mexican metropolis of Queretaro. Within the sky, tiny stars appeared one after the other, aligning into constellations.

Juan Carlos Hernández used his weight to regulate a big telescope. “Purpose for me, Wealthy!” he yelled to his pal. Ricardo Soriano centered a inexperienced laser on a small patch of clouds, concentrating on the place the Tsuchinshan-Atlas comet will quickly be seen.

Hernández and different newbie astronomers labored to certify Joya-La Barreta Ecological Park final yr because the first city night time sky area in Latin America by DarkSky Worldwide, a company working to coach the general public in regards to the hurt of indiscriminate lighting.

The park sitting at about 8,520 ft (2,600 meters) above sea stage on the outskirts of Queretaro offers unobstructed entry to the night time sky. Whereas over 200 darkish sky locations exist globally, Joya-La Barreta park is just one of 11 in areas which are thought-about city. Its darkish sky standing is underneath fixed menace, nonetheless, from growing gentle air pollution and urbanization.

Fading stars

Hernández, who simply turned 40, has advocated relentlessly for the night time sky for greater than 20 years.

The president of Queretaro’s Astronomical Society and one of many founders of the stargazing tourism company Astronite, the aerospace engineer by day has been chasing darkish areas to watch the celebrities since he can bear in mind.

“In 2014 you can see Omega (Centauri) sitting within the sky simply above the town,” he stated of a constellation over 17,000 gentle years away. “Right this moment it’s unimaginable.”

A 2023 examine that analyzed information from greater than 50,000 newbie stargazers discovered that synthetic lighting is making the night time sky the world over about 10% brighter annually. As of 2016, greater than 80% of the world lived underneath light-polluted skies.

Research in Mexico present that elevated urbanization and the necessity for metropolis lighting in relation to safety points have precipitated extra gentle contamination.

Fernando Ávila Castro of the Institute of Astronomy on the Nationwide Autonomous College of Mexico stated a great analogy to clarify gentle air pollution is noise air pollution.

“We consistently hear visitors noise from the road, however previous a sure stage that depth turns into annoying, it doesn’t allow you to relaxation,” he stated. “The identical factor occurs with gentle. Particularly as a result of all dwelling beings have this inside clock, the circadian rhythm, which will depend on the exterior values of sunshine.”

“Once we fall asleep, we neglect that a complete world stays lively,” Castro stated.

Below the highlight

The moon and stars are the sunshine supply guiding nocturnal exercise for crops and animals — figuring out when animals emerge from hiding to seek out meals, when crops reproduce and when sure animal species migrate. Synthetic gentle has boomed because the industrial revolution within the nineteenth century, with environment friendly, reasonably priced LEDs the newest sort in large use.

“There’s additionally this entire half in regards to the biodiversity,” Analette Casazza, president of one other Queretaro astronomy affiliation, stated whereas standing underneath the celebrities Saturday night time. “We are able to hear the singing from all of the animals that stay right here (in Joya-La Barreta). Lots of these pollinating animals, their exercise is at night time.”

Joya-La Barreta park hosts 123 species of vertebrates.

“The actual problem now we have is to get residents concerned,” stated María Guadalupe Espinosa de los Reyes Ayala, Queretaro’s setting secretary. “When individuals arrive at a spot like this and understand how a lot it has to supply, they see the necessity to shield and preserve it.”

Conservation problem

Hernández and different astronomy activists proceed to combat to preserve the park’s nocturnal situations and go state laws to scale back gentle air pollution.

Hernández can also be combating for the enforcement of Mexico’s Normal Legislation of Ecological Stability, handed in 2021.

The legislation offers common suggestions to reduce gentle air pollution. It’s been acknowledged in sure Mexican states like Sonora, Baja California and Hidalgo to guard observatories {and professional} astronomical observations. Nevertheless in Queretaro, Hernández submitted an modification to the state congress in 2023 to use the laws, however hasn’t had any luck.

3 times a yr, the citizen astronomers at Joya-La Barreta must submit gentle air pollution experiences to DarkSky. Elevated gentle air pollution ranges or a scarcity of holiday makers to the park for astronomical actions can put their certification in danger. For Ricardo Soriano, one other founding father of Astronite, it’s a relentless trigger for concern.

“If contamination continues to develop and the federal government doesn’t assist us, and doesn’t do extra to see extra past our certification, then we are able to lose it,” Soriano stated. “We’ll have to depart Queretaro to attempt to discover one other park like this. I hope they’ll see it as one thing vital for the state and group.”

On Saturday, because the comet got here into focus, 10-year-old Matti González, accompanied by his dad and mom Antonio González and Brenda Estrella, burst right into a smile trying via his telescope.

“What are you going to decorate up as for Halloween?” González requested his son. “An astronaut!” Matti yelled.

All through the night time, Hernandez ran backwards and forwards between attendees with a crimson headlight guiding his path. He defined sure celestial our bodies or helped focus a scope on Saturn’s rings. Pausing for a second, he thought of Carl Sagan, and the way the astronomer stated the identical parts that type within the ultimate gasps of a dying star — hydrogen, oxygen, carbon — are parts present in our our bodies in the present day.

“Wanting on the sky is essentially the most religious expertise there might be,” Hernández stated excitedly. “It’s the connection to our true molecular origins, but in addition to our cosmic future.”

Wanting up on the stars, he stated: “For me, crucial factor is that the longer term generations know {that a} useful resource their grandparents had is being misplaced.”

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