為什么“黑暗天空”旅游正在流行

為什么“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.

在保護(hù)世界各地的自然奇觀免受污染、發(fā)展和其他現(xiàn)代社會(huì)的人為副產(chǎn)品侵害的斗爭(zhēng)中，一個(gè)被忽視的事實(shí)是，我們即將失去我們最迷人的自然景觀之一。更諷刺的是，它不需要旅行或門(mén)票來(lái)體驗(yàn)。夜空——一個(gè)免費(fèi)的、所有人都能看到的發(fā)光景象——已經(jīng)被人類馴服，現(xiàn)在全世界83%的人口生活在輕度污染的天空下。

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.

現(xiàn)在，多虧了旅行作家和天體旅游向?qū)呷R麗·斯蒂馬克，我們有了一個(gè)單一的目錄，讓我們有機(jī)會(huì)仰望天空。她的新書(shū)“黑暗的天空:Astrotourism實(shí)用指南,“不僅功能35全世界最黑暗的耽于幻想的地方,但也強(qiáng)調(diào)了年度眼鏡像流星雨一樣,最好的地方抓住北(南)燈,火箭發(fā)射觀光,甚至細(xì)節(jié)在下一個(gè)十年的主要日食,觀看。

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!"

“與我在《孤獨(dú)星球》的編輯合作，我們?cè)诖蠹s12周內(nèi)完成了從構(gòu)思到最終稿的整個(gè)過(guò)程，”斯蒂馬克告訴MNN《黑暗天空》的演變過(guò)程。“她有科學(xué)和天文學(xué)報(bào)道的背景，而我已經(jīng)在為我自己的網(wǎng)站“太空旅游指南”寫(xiě)關(guān)于這個(gè)主題的文章，所以我們能夠迅速地處理主題列表，以決定我們想要把它放在哪里，以及如何組織這本書(shū)。”在那之后，我做了大量的研究、寫(xiě)作，并與全球各地的消息來(lái)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.

斯蒂馬克通過(guò)她的網(wǎng)站Valerie & Valise記錄了她的環(huán)球旅行(并為那些想做同樣事情的人提供建議)。她說(shuō)，很多不同類型的太空旅游都讓她深受鼓舞。

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.

盡管Stimac贊揚(yáng)了像IDA這樣的組織在幫助保護(hù)原始地區(qū)免受光污染侵蝕方面所做的出色工作，但它面臨的最大挑戰(zhàn)之一是，太空旅游仍然是一個(gè)年輕的產(chǎn)業(yè)。“不是每個(gè)人都有興趣或者愿意為了這些經(jīng)歷去旅行，”她分享道。

Joshua Tree National Park, California

約書(shū)亞樹(shù)國(guó)家公園，加利福尼亞

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.

約書(shū)亞樹(shù)國(guó)家公園在2017年被國(guó)際開(kāi)發(fā)協(xié)會(huì)指定為一個(gè)黑暗的天空公園，對(duì)于生活在西海岸的觀星者來(lái)說(shuō)，它是一個(gè)非常受歡迎的景點(diǎn)。盡管科切拉谷地的城市對(duì)西部邊境造成了光污染，但它與東部主要城市的相對(duì)隔離(鳳凰城是離它最近的大城市，大約300英里遠(yuǎn))，為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.

埃爾基谷位于智利北部的埃爾基河上，是一個(gè)非常受歡迎的葡萄酒產(chǎn)區(qū)。埃爾基谷還提供了理想的條件(高海拔、人口稀少、云層有限)，人們可以打開(kāi)酒瓶，向上面的天空祝酒。該地區(qū)占地約9萬(wàn)英畝，在2015年被國(guó)際天文學(xué)聯(lián)合會(huì)評(píng)為史上第一個(gè)夜空保護(hù)區(qū)。這里還有十幾個(gè)觀景臺(tái)，幾家小型觀星酒店，還有各種各樣的旅游項(xiàng)目，既有宇宙景觀，也有日間景觀。

Wadi Rum, Jordan

瓦迪·魯姆，約旦

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."

瓦迪魯姆(Wadi Rum，又名“月亮谷”)是約旦最有價(jià)值的旅游目的地之一，它是一個(gè)超凡脫俗的山地沙漠，以引人注目的巖層和被風(fēng)吹拂的鐵銹色沙丘為特色。難怪這個(gè)占地280平方英里的聯(lián)合國(guó)教科文組織世界遺產(chǎn)被稱為“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."

“我偏愛(ài)約旦，因?yàn)槿路菸乙谶@里帶領(lǐng)一個(gè)旅游團(tuán)!”,”Stimac說(shuō)。“瓦迪魯姆也是一個(gè)不可思議的地方(很多科幻電影都用到了它，比如《普羅米修斯》、《俠盜一號(hào)》和《火星救援》)，它是一個(gè)黑暗的地方，你可以坐在那里仰望夜空，幾乎不會(huì)被打擾。”