Nothing can beat the magic of the Nantucket sky on a clear night. Thirty miles at sea, far from the glow of major cities, the island can feel at times like an ocean liner, alone beneath a canopy of stars. It’s a view to stir the soul. But now that velvety blackness, and the celestial bodies it reveals, could be lost to us. Light pollution on Nantucket has increased 2.4% each year since 2012, according to data obtained from satellites. That means that there is about 22% more light pollution today than just nine years ago.

A new citizen advocacy group called Nantucket Lights aims to do something about that. With a diverse steering committee that includes year-round as well as seasonal residents, its mission is to preserve and protect Nantucket’s nighttime environment and heritage of dark skies by raising awareness about light pollution on the island and advocating for environmentally responsible outdoor lighting. Nantucket Lights is entirely nonprofit and volunteer-run.

The group’s recently launched website is intended to serve as a resource for the community. It has information about light pollution specific to the island, including information about Nantucket’s Outdoor Lighting Bylaw. Adopted in 2005, that Bylaw contains a number of provisions to help preserve Nantucket’s dark skies that Nantucket Lights suspects many property owners aren’t aware of and will voluntarily comply with once they are.

The website has a link to a downloadable handout that supporters can print out and distribute to property owners to spread the word about the Bylaw, as well as to educate them about the “Five Principles for Responsible Outdoor Lighting” jointly issued in 2020 by the International Dark Sky Association and the Illuminating Engineering Society.

For more information, contact Gail Walker.