Red Lodge Dark Skies
A Sky Worth Preserving
Red Lodge Dark Skies is a group dedicated to protecting the night sky from light pollution through education, policy advocacy, and community engagement. The night sky above Red Lodge is an asset to be appreciated, protected, and improved. Learn how you can help preserve the night sky.
What is Light Pollution?
Light pollution is a brightening of the night sky by man made sources. It washes out the stars, disrupts natural cycles in living organisms from insects to birds to mammals, and is among the easiest forms of pollution to mitigate.
Image source: Skyglowproject.com
Red Lodge currently has excellent sky quality. While there are several ways to measure sky quality, the Bortle Scale is perhaps the most intuitive, determined by which and how many objects and constellations are visible in the night sky. Using Sky Quality Meters, RLDS has been monitoring Red Lodge's sky since 2021. Most locations within city limits are Bortle 3-4, which affords viewers a distinct view of the Milky Way on clear, moonless nights. Our goal is to educate residents and visitors in making smart, considerate, and appropriate lighting decisions so that we can keep our stellar skies stellar.
What is "Good" Lighting?
Preserving the night sky doesn't require turning off all lighting, it just requires some consideration to be sure the lighting is appropriate. There are five straightforward principles that can be used to help guide good lighting choices.
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