为什么“黑暗天空”旅游正在流行

为什么“黑暗天空”旅游正在流行

In the fight to protect natural wonders around the world from pollution, development and other man-made byproducts of our modern world, it's an overlooked fact that we're on the verge of losing one of our most enchanting. Even more ironic, it's not something that requires travel or tickets to experience. The night sky — a free, all-access glowing spectacle — has been tamed by humanity to the point where 83% of the world's population now live under light polluted skies.

在保护世界各地的自然奇观免受污染、发展和其他现代社会的人为副产品侵害的斗争中，一个被忽视的事实是，我们即将失去我们最迷人的自然景观之一。更讽刺的是，它不需要旅行或门票来体验。夜空——一个免费的、所有人都能看到的发光景象——已经被人类驯服，现在全世界83%的人口生活在轻度污染的天空下。

An individual silhouetted against a backdrop of stars in Queensland, Australia. (Photo: Dualiti Photos [CC by 2.0]/Flickr)

And now, thanks to travel writer and astrotourism guide Valerie Stimac, we have a single catalog of the opportunities available to look up in wonder at the heavens above. Her new book "Dark Skies: A Practical Guide to Astrotourism," not only features 35 of the darkest stargazing places around the world, but also highlights annual spectacles like meteor showers, the best place to catch the northern (or southern) lights, rocket launch sightseeing and even details on the major eclipses of the next decade and where to watch them.

现在，多亏了旅行作家和天体旅游向导瓦莱丽·斯蒂马克，我们有了一个单一的目录，让我们有机会仰望天空。她的新书“黑暗的天空:Astrotourism实用指南,“不仅功能35全世界最黑暗的耽于幻想的地方,但也强调了年度眼镜像流星雨一样,最好的地方抓住北(南)灯,火箭发射观光,甚至细节在下一个十年的主要日食,观看。

The new Lonely Planet book 'Dark Skies,' by Valerie Stimac, offers an in-depth guide to the world of astrotourism. (Photo: Valerie Stimac/Lonely Planet)

"In cooperation with my editor at Lonely Planet, we went from idea to final draft in about 12 weeks," Stimac told MNN of the evolution of "Dark Skies." "She had a background in science and astronomy coverage and I was already writing about the subject for my own site, Space Tourism Guide, so we were able to tackle the list of topics quickly to decide where we wanted to include and how to organize the book. After that, it was a lot of researching, writing, and working with sources around the globe!"

“与我在《孤独星球》的编辑合作，我们在大约12周内完成了从构思到最终稿的整个过程，”斯蒂马克告诉MNN《黑暗天空》的演变过程。“她有科学和天文学报道的背景，而我已经在为我自己的网站“太空旅游指南”写关于这个主题的文章，所以我们能够迅速地处理主题列表，以决定我们想要把它放在哪里，以及如何组织这本书。”在那之后，我做了大量的研究、写作，并与全球各地的消息来源合作!”

Valerie Stimac under a starry night sky. (Photo: Valerie Stimac)

Stimac, who chronicles her travels around the globe (and offers tips for those looking to do the same) through her site Valerie & Valise, said she's deeply encouraged by interest across a lot of the different types of astrotourism.

斯蒂马克通过她的网站Valerie & Valise记录了她的环球旅行(并为那些想做同样事情的人提供建议)。她说，很多不同类型的太空旅游都让她深受鼓舞。

Arches National Park, one of over 65 dark sky parks in the U.S. as designated by the International Dark-Sky Association, is a popular attraction for stargazers. (Photo: By Jun Su/Shutterstock)

While Stimac praised organizations like the IDA for doing a fantastic job of helping to protect pristine regions from encroaching light pollution, one of the biggest challenges faced is that astrotourism is still a young industry. "Not everyone is interested and/or willing to travel for these experiences," she shared.

尽管Stimac赞扬了像IDA这样的组织在帮助保护原始地区免受光污染侵蚀方面所做的出色工作，但它面临的最大挑战之一是，太空旅游仍然是一个年轻的产业。“不是每个人都有兴趣或者愿意为了这些经历去旅行，”她分享道。

Joshua Tree National Park, California

约书亚树国家公园，加利福尼亚

The Milky Way rising over the rugged and rocky terrain of Joshua Tree National Park. (Photo: By Saptashaw Chakraborty/Shutterstock)

Designated a Dark Sky Park by the IDA in 2017, Joshua Tree National Park is a popular attraction for stargazers living on the west coast. Despite encroaching light pollution on its western borders from Coachella Valley cities, its relative isolation from major cities in the east (with Phoenix being the closest metropolitan area some 300 miles away), provides it with some of the darkest skies in California.

约书亚树国家公园在2017年被国际开发协会指定为一个黑暗的天空公园，对于生活在西海岸的观星者来说，它是一个非常受欢迎的景点。尽管科切拉谷地的城市对西部边境造成了光污染，但它与东部主要城市的相对隔离(凤凰城是离它最近的大城市，大约300英里远)，为它提供了加州最黑暗的天空。

Elqui Valley, Chile

Elqui山谷,智利

A long exposure shot of the beautiful night sky above the Elqui Valley in Chile. (Photo: By Pung/Shutterstock)

A popular wine region centered on the Elqui River in northern Chile, the Elqui Valley also offers ideal conditions (high-altitude, low-population, limited cloud cover) for uncorking a bottle and toasting the heavens above. Spanning some 90,000 acres, the region has the distinction of being named the first-ever Dark Sky Sanctuary by the International Astronomical Union in 2015. It's also home to nearly a dozen observatories, boutique stargazing hotels and a large variety of tours that cover both cosmic and daytime spectacles.

埃尔基谷位于智利北部的埃尔基河上，是一个非常受欢迎的葡萄酒产区。埃尔基谷还提供了理想的条件(高海拔、人口稀少、云层有限)，人们可以打开酒瓶，向上面的天空祝酒。该地区占地约9万英亩，在2015年被国际天文学联合会评为史上第一个夜空保护区。这里还有十几个观景台，几家小型观星酒店，还有各种各样的旅游项目，既有宇宙景观，也有日间景观。

Wadi Rum, Jordan

瓦迪·鲁姆，约旦

The Milky Way in Wadi Rum, Jordan. (Photo: By Zaid Abu Taha/Shutterstock)

One of Jordan's most valuable tourist destinations, the Wadi Rum (known also as "The Valley of the Moon") is an otherworldly mountain desert featuring dramatic rock formations and wind-swept rust-colored dunes. It's no wonder that this UNESCO World Heritage Site, spanning 280 square miles, has been nicknamed "Mars on Earth."

瓦迪鲁姆(Wadi Rum，又名“月亮谷”)是约旦最有价值的旅游目的地之一，它是一个超凡脱俗的山地沙漠，以引人注目的岩层和被风吹拂的铁锈色沙丘为特色。难怪这个占地280平方英里的联合国教科文组织世界遗产被称为“地球上的火星”。

"I'm partial to Jordan because I'm leading a tour group here in March!," said Stimac. "Wadi Rum is an incredible landscape too (used for a lot of sci-fi movies like 'Prometheus,' 'Rogue One' and 'The Martian') and it's one of the dark places where you can just sit and look up at the wonder of the night sky with very little interruption."

“我偏爱约旦，因为三月份我要在这里带领一个旅游团!”,”Stimac说。“瓦迪鲁姆也是一个不可思议的地方(很多科幻电影都用到了它，比如《普罗米修斯》、《侠盗一号》和《火星救援》)，它是一个黑暗的地方，你可以坐在那里仰望夜空，几乎不会被打扰。”