The Dark Side of Jasper National Park
Have you ever explored Jasper National Park at night? Have you ever been in the wild of this wonderful place while others were sleeping? That is when the skies come alive... a magical moment that commands us to lie down, right on the ground.
The Milky Way appears to explode from the Athabasca Glacier along the Icefields Parkway. © Yuichi Takasaka, blue-moon.ca
On March 26, 2011 the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (RASC) officially designated Jasper National Park a Dark Sky Preserve (DSP). Encompassing over 11 000 km2, the park becomes the world’s largest preserve, the eighth in a family of Dark Sky Preserves within the Parks Canada network and the eleventh in Canada.
But what does this all mean once you’re lying down on the ground?
It means we’ll be able to do it again and again for years! The official status of DSP gives our park the responsibility to protect and promote nocturnal habitats and visibility of the night sky. It also means supporting responsible lighting, and encouraging public awareness through education programs.
To celebrate the new designation Jasper National Park has developed innovative dark sky programs and a video that will help you appreciate this great way of experiencing the park.
Forget about city lights and take our park roads to access excellent year-round star gazing sites. Pyramid Island and Athabasca Glacier are two outstanding road accessible sites within the park!
Dark Sky Video