1

Identification and verificationof Dark Sky Parks in Germany

Andreas HänelPlanetarium, Museum am Schölerberg, Osnabrück

Working Group DARK SKYder Vereinigung der Sternfreunde

Dark-Sky Parks SymposiumMontsec June 2011

How can dark sky places be identified?

Upward light, DMSP map 2009Sky brightness, Cinzano atlas 1997

2

3

Satellite data (Defense Meteorological Satellite Program)

raw data for every night

geo-referenced and combined datafor whole World on www:version 4

4

3

5

Satellite data (Defense Meteorological Satellite Program)

~300 MB unzipped ->

picture size:43200 x 21600 Pixel, 700 MB

not readable with aconventional graphics program!

GIS programm

6

DMSP data

used in UK for Night Blight

4

7

Further reductions

with smaller areas (e.g. central Europe) ->

use of astronomical data reduction software:

• adapt grey values (1 - 63)

• calculations (subtraction ...)

• colour palette (like Night Blight)

Astronomy Software:

• Iris (C. Buil, freeware)

• AstroArt

• ...

How can dark sky places be verified?• limiting magnitude (subjective)

• Bortle scale (subjective)

• zenithal sky brightness (SQM-L): 21.8 mag/arcsec²

• integrated sky brightness (all sky photometry)

OMI

5

Nationalpark Eifelat border to Belgium, near Bonn/Köln/Aachen

within nature park Hohes Venn-Eifel 2700 km²

astronomical tradition:

observatory Hoher List

25 m radio Stockert

100 m radio Effelsberg

national park since 2004, 107 km²

„wood - water - wilderness“

military terrain Vogelsang

2006 -> protect sky

Nationalpark Eifel

view -> Vogelsang/national park

Dernau valley river Ahr (direct light <-> reflected from houses)

6

Measuring sky brightness with the SQM/SQM-L

• handy tool

• simple measurements

• but know and respect the limits!

• tests by Pierantonio Cinzano

geopositions with GPS

• exact positions

• waypoints with SQM measurement

• navigation tool to search dark places

Naturpark/Nationalpark Eifel

21

20.5

20

19.5

19.0SQM-L measurements in 12/2008

-> more from Harald

7

DER SPIEGEL 7/2009

dark sky reserve in Schottland

EUROPARC Germany: National Natural Landscapes

101 nature parks (26%)

MAN and nature

16 biosphere reserves (3,6%)

man and nature

14 national parks (0.55%)

man and NATURE

8

Natural Landscapes and Dark Skies

TERRA.vita, Osnabrücknature and UNESCO GeoPark,

densely populated

9

TERRA.vita, Osnabrück

UNESCO GeoPark,

densely populated

TERRA.vita,Osnabrück14.10.09

10

TERRA.vita, Osnabrück

TERRA.vita, Osnabrück

21.0

20.5

20.0

11

TERRA.vita, Osnabrück

Variation during time (Holzhausen)

12

Seasonal variation (Holzhausen, SQM-L)

screening by vegetation

Variation during night(Osnabrück Museum, SQM-LU)

switch-off

13

Variation during night (Holzhausen, SQM-L)

Naturpark Westhavelland

Touristic undevelopped region,

nature reserve:

darkest region in Germanydiscussion about 21.7 mag/arcsec²

70 km west of Berlin

14

Naturpark WesthavellandHavel - water reservoir, swamps

important stop for migratory birds

cranes, wild geese, bustard

FFH, RAMSAR

1315 km²

Naturpark Westhavelland 04/2009

Zodiacal light

15

Naturpark Westhavellandzodical light 22.2.2011

Naturpark WesthavellandNorth, Gegenschein, 22.2.2011

16

Naturpark Westhavellandgradient S > N (Rathenow)

gradient E -> W (Berlin)

Naturpark Westhavelland

21.5

21.0

17

Naturpark Westhavelland

21.78 mag/arcsec² !

4 measurement campains

Naturpark Westhavellandcorrected valuesthrough reference points:

• Milky Way

• cloud cover

• transmission

18

Naturpark Westhavellandlighting inventory

Naturpark Westhavelland estimation upward light

Village Luminaires Upward light [Lumen] Switch -off Wolsier 34 18200 50% 21:30-5:00 Spaatz 65 14800 Elslaake-Kohlhof 25 8100 Schönholz 29 18700 50% 22:00-5:00 Witzke 29 21800 Lochow 16 0 --- Dickte 7 5700 Görne 51 13800 Joachimshof 29 28400 --- Neuhof 17 2856 23:00-5:00 Roddahn 33 30240 23:00-5:00 Babe 11 2500 --- Rübehorst 10 0 1:00-5:00 Buchhorst 2 0

19

Naturpark Westhavelland1. 4 darks sky reserves

2. Extension after replacement

Comparison with other dark regions

20

PNR Causses de QuercyRocamadour

Switch-off at 24:00

before - after

21.3 21.6

Nature Park Causses de Quercy

-> center of park

21.6521.55

21

Montsec

21.45

Comparison Causses de Quercy - Montsec

21.4521.65

22

Comparison with other dark regions

La Palma 21.6 Lastovo Palma 21.55 W-Havelland 21.4 mag/arcsec²

Biosphärenreservat Rhön„Land of great panoramic views“

1850 km²; Wasserkuppe 950 m

23

Biosphärenreservat Rhön„Land of great panoramic views“

Biosphärenreservat Rhön

illumination of church

24

Lange Rhön 21.65 mag/arcsec² No Entry!

Zenit: 21.78 mag/arcsec² (no Milky Way!)

25

Biosphärenreservat Rhön

21.77 mag/arcsec² !

Biosphärenreservat Rhön

21.77 mag/arcsec² !

21.0

26

Biosphärenreservat Rhön

DMSP 2009

Biosphärenreservat Rhön

Lange Rhön

no parking allowed

parking at the borderssimilar dark

27

Federal Structure of Germany

• 3 Länder

• UNESCO-Biosphärenreservat Rhön 3 administrations

• ARGE Rhön

• Verein Natur- und Lebensraum Rhön e.V.

• Naturpark Hessische Rhön

• Naturpark Bayrische Rhön

• Rhönklub e.V.

• Rhönforum e.V.

Who can apply for Dark Sky Park?

Nationalpark Harzclimates 200 - 1140 m

bogs, forest, high mountains

Lynx

Geo park, mining tradition

UNESCO heritage

247 km²

28

Nationalpark Harzsky brightness 20.5-21 mag/arcsec²

Nationalpark Harzilluminated mountains

sky beamer

29

Nationalpark Harztelescope meeting/star party

St. Andreasberg

30

St. Andreasberg

Reduction of lighting - switch off, data: M. Koch

19,00

19,50

20,00

20,50

21,00

21,50

22,00

18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00

31

Torfhaus

32

20.5

20.0

33

Elend

34

Zodiacal light and Gegenschein

Gegenschein:200 10m stars ~ 0.15 mcd/m² ~ 22.15 mag/arcsec² (Leinert)

natural dark sky:21.7 mag/arcsec² ~ 0.23 mcd/m²

dark sky:21.4 mag/arcsec² ~ 0.30 mcd/m²

Naturpark Westhavelland Nationalpark Harz

Dark Sky Park Zselic, Ungarn Lastovo, Kroatien

Biosphärenreservat Rhön

La Palma, Spanien

35

Conclusions

• useful to find dark sky places!

• DMSP more recent (2009 <-> 1997)

• DMSP have higher resolution (individual places)

• DMSP: relative values

• Cinzano maps „values“

• Cinzano maps coarse spatial resolution (smearing)

• too broad levels (20.5 - 21.0 - 21.5 mag/arcsec²)

• 21.0 .... >21.3

• about 0.5 mag/arcsec² too bright?

go to the places and test them!

Lastovo 2010300 D mod. 800 ASA

1:1.4, 30 mm, 30 s

36