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Maine Wants To Remind You What A Natural Night Sky Looks Like

See that mass of light on the horizon in Acadia National Park? That's the Milky Way—for reals.

Stargazers will see the blue yonder with new eyes at Maine's new Acadia Night Sky Festival, which celebrates the starry, natural nighttime sky. The festival, which starts on the sunset of Sept. 17 and ends at sunrise Sept. 21, tries to bring awareness to the problem of light pollution and the importance of preserving the pristine skies of Bar Harbor and and Acadia National Park.

Fest organizers say that a natural sky is increasingly rare, since artificial light from cities create light pollution and obscure our view of the glowing stars and other stellar matter. They add that two-thirds of the entire population of the Eastern Seaboard has yet to see Earth's own galaxy. In light of this (har, har), the Island Astronomy Institute, along with groups like the National Park Service and the Bar Harbor Chamber of Commerce, decided to preserve the beauty of downeast Maine's natural sky. It's such a sight to behold, that on clear nights you can see the Milky Way swirl above Mount Desert Island.

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National Parks / Outdoor Travel / Spring Travel / Hiking / Nature / → All Tags

National Park Travel: Maine's Acadia Reopens

Hibernation time is over! Maine's Acadia National Park reopens its central Park Loop Road tomorrow for the official season. The road, built by philanthropist John D. Rockefeller, Jr. as a set of carriage trails criss-crossing the preserve, takes visitors throughout the park, which is located primarily on Mount Desert Island.

The only national park in New England is heavily traveled during the summer months but it's a great place to hike in spring, before the hordes arrive. Use of a camp site is just ten dollars a night.

Need some gear and driving up? Swing by the 24-hour L.L. Bean store in Freeport.

Related Stories:
· Acadia National Park [Official Site]
· National Parks coverage [Jaunted]
· Spring Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: dbking]