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Protect
'Sconset's Dark Sky
Those who visit 'Sconset for the first time are often in awe of our dark sky and the amazing, relatively unobstructed view of the stars. Miraculously, it is like time has passed us by and we still have a natural resource that many communities can only dream about. It is a treasure that many of us take for granted, but we shouldn't. Our view of the starry skies is at risk of slowly, imperceptibly, disappearing if we're not careful. Let's all work together to protect our night sky from excessive outdoor lighting so it will be preserved in all its beauty.
Contact us if you have any questions about, or suggestions for, our Dark Sky initiative.
Board Dark Sky Policy
You'll save energy and money. You'll be a good neighbor. And you'll help preserve our view of the stars.
Learn About Light Pollution:
What You Can Do
We can all help protect 'Sconset's dark sky through our individual efforts. Here are some things you can do that will make a real difference:
- Install exterior light fixtures that are downward pointing and fully shielded.
- Use the minimum brightness needed and minimize blue light emissions. (Dark Sky International recommends a color temperature of 2200K for outdoor lighting applications, wherever possible.)
- Use outdoor lighting only when essential and only for the area that needs it.
- Turn off all your outdoor lighting no later than 10:00 pm. (If you'll be returning home after that, a flashlight can light the way!)
- At a minimum, comply with Nantucket's outdoor lighting bylaw.
A new outdoor lighting bylaw was adopted at the May 2023 Annual Town Meeting (Article 76) and became effective on January 1, 2024. To help property owners comply with it, Nantucket Lights, the citizen advocacy group dedicated to preserving Nantucket’s nighttime environment and heritage of dark skies, has added a comprehensive guide to its website called Outdoor Lighting Guide: Lighting with Nantucket in Mind.
In addition to explaining some fundamentals of outdoor lighting that are key to understanding and complying with the new regulations, the new guide summarizes the bylaw as it applies to specific types of outdoor lighting to make compliance easier. It also includes a number of helpful resources, including examples of compliant products with links to them.
Please, with the help of this guide, make sure your own outdoor lighting is dark-sky and neighbor friendly!
We support
Nantucket Lights!
Nantucket Lights is a volunteer-run citizen advocacy group exclusively dedicated to combating light pollution on Nantucket to preserve its dark skies. Learn more at https://nantucketlights.org.
STREET LIGHTS
Please report any public street lights that seem unnecessarily bright to the Civic Association.
The Civic Association will contact the appropriate authorities to ask them to correct the situation.
The goal will be to have street lights that don't interfere with our beautiful dark sky but are still sufficiently bright to provide visibility at key intersections.
Regardless of the street lights, please always use FLASHLIGHTS and BIKE LIGHTS at night to ensure your personal safety!