Corrections & Clarifications: When the International Dark Sky Park status goes into effect for the Grand Canyon National Park was incorrect in a previous version of this article.

Grand Canyon National Park and the Grand Canyon Conservancy are planning to celebrate the park's designation as an International Dark Sky Park on June 22. Three years of hard work have gone into earning that status, which is expected to be made official in time for the party.

In June 2016 the park received provisional dark-sky status, which started the clock on the process of retrofitting two-thirds of the parks' lights to comply with strict guidelines. The goal was to earn full dark-sky status in time for the park’s 100th anniversary in 2019.

The designation is bestowed on areas that take steps to reduce light pollution and make it easier for people to enjoy the night sky. The International Dark-Sky Association established the International Dark Sky Places conservation program in 2001.

Since 2016 workers have retrofitted more than 1,500 light fixtures, allowing the park to claim that 67% of its lighting meets standards. The new fixtures are shielded to keep light focused on the ground and have lower-wattage LED bulbs. The process also involves acquiring data for darkness analysis and monitoring and interpreting the importance of preserving darkness.

The park and the conservancy hope to have 90% of the lighting compliant by 2022.

Grand Canyon Star Party: June 22-29

The park will celebrate the dark-sky designation during its annual Star Party June 22-29 on the north and south rims. Amateur astronomers from throughout the country will volunteer their time and telescopes to give visitors the opportunity to see planets, star clusters, the moon, nebulae and distant galaxies.

In addition to Dark Sky Park status, the celebration will commemorate Grand Canyon's centennial and the 50th anniversary of the moon landing.

Other Arizona dark-sky sites

Grand Canyon National Park is one of several dark-sky areas in Arizona. Here are the others:

Camp Verde

Flagstaff

Fountain Hills

Grand Canyon National Park

Kartchner Caverns State Park

Village of Oak Creek (Big Park)

Oracle State Park

Petrified Forest National Park

Sedona

Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument

Parashant National Monument

Tonto National Monument

Tumacácori National Historical Park

Walnut Canyon National Monument

Wupatki National Monument

Details: International Dark-Sky Association, darksky.org.

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