The Isle of Sark, a tiny British Channel island of just 600 residents, has become the first internationally-recognized “dark sky community,” as determined by the International Dark-Sky Association.



The sky over the Isle of Sark has the best view of the Milky Way from Earth.

Light pollution in heavily populated areas has long been a problem for stargazers and astronomers. The reflection of artificial ground lights in the atmosphere decreases visibility of stars and astronomical phenomena in most of the developed world.

To combat the problem, Sark residents have no public lighting or cars, making the sky above the two-square-mile island the clearest—and darkest—populated area on the planet. Praise from environmental groups and the British government abound, including this statement from Roger Davies, President of the Royal Astronomical Society:

“People around the world are become increasingly fascinated by astronomy as we discover more about our universe, and the creation of the world’s first dark sky island in the British Isles can only help to increase that appetite. I hope this leads to many more people experiencing the wonders of a truly dark sky.”

[source]