Under the spell of the Milky Way

Imagine standing under a sky so dark that the Milky Way stretches across it like a luminous ribbon. This is the experience International Dark Sky Week aims to bring back. Every April, during the week of the new moon (this year from April 21 to 27), people are encouraged to gaze at the stars. The event was founded in 2003 by Jennifer Barlow, an American high school student, to raise awareness of light pollution. One of the best places to experience a pristine night sky in the United States is Joshua Tree National Park in southeastern California, an International Dark Sky Park. Here, the absence of artificial light allows visitors to see the stars as our ancestors once did.
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