Flagstaff Dark Skies Coalition

192328 Resource 178435 178982 178982 1197518434060 1197518890039 Controlled Flagstaff Dark Sky Enthusiasts In for a Treat

The Geminid meteor shower will be at its best Thursday – Friday

Flagstaff is the first <a title="Flagstaff First International Dark-Sky City" href="http://www.flagstaffdarkskies.org/idsc.htm" target="_blank">International Dark-Sky City</a> and is home not only to leading professional astronomers at <a title="Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff AZ" href="http://www.lowell.edu/" target="_blank">Lowell Observatory</a>, but also to many amateurs, and just plain folks who like to watch the stars at night. This week we Flagstaff star-lovers will have the opportunity to see what National Geographic Magazine calls <a title="Year's Best Sky Show -- in Flagstaff AZ" href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/12/071210-geminid-meteors.html" target="_blank">The Year's Best Meteor Shower</a>. The annual Geminid meteor shower will be at its best since 1996 because this year it coincides with the early setting of a crescent moon. The <a href="http://www.flagstaffdarkskies.org/calendar.htm">Flagstaff Dark Skies Coalition website</a> advises that the best viewing will be “to the east” and after midnight. So set those alarm clocks and enjoy the night sky!If you’re wondering what dark skies have to do with selling real estate, let me tell you this story: Several years ago I was the real estate agent for a very nice couple from out-of-state. I showed homes to them over the course of several days. One morning, they came into my office to say they were so disappointed in the neighborhood that we had visited together the day before. They had driven back to check it out after dark and found NO LIGHTS on the homes at night! They were shocked! Where they came from, every "quality" home was lighted with spots at night. I explained about the value the Flagstaff community places on the night skies. They admitted that they had noticed how wonderful the stars were – something they never saw in the city they were coming from. That day, they spent the afternoon at Lowell Observatory, learning the history of the importance of dark skies to Flagstaff. Later in the afternoon, they bought their favorite house in that “disappointing, dark neighborhood.” Most Flagstaff people treasure our dark skies, even if they haven’t thought a lot about it. There are city lighting codes to require light shielding on both commercial and residential properties. Here’s what the Dark Skies’ Coalition advises if your neighbor’s light is shining in your window: <a title="Neighborhood lighting in Flagstaff" href="http://www.flagstaffdarkskies.org/neighbor.htm" target="_blank">How to talk to your neighbor about a bad light</a>.So, enjoy! (And be neighborly about that outdoor lighting.) 9 application/xml Dark Skies Coalition Flagstaff homes Flagstaff lighting codes Flagstaff real estate agent International Dark-Sky City Living in Flagstaff Lowell Observatory night skies in Flagstaff Flagstaff Dark Skies Coalition Website of the local Flagstaff Dark Skies Coalition http://www.flagstaffdarkskies.org Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff AZ Filled with Flagstaff history and current, cutting edge research - visit Lowell at the top of Mars Hill http://www.lowell.edu false Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 7.0; Windows NT 5.1; .NET CLR 1.1.4322; .NET CLR 2.0.50727) 127.0.0.1 127.0.0.1 aheitland 24.121.32.9 false true false false true 178975 false false true false false false true 178435 blog blogsite/BestFlagstaffHomes/web