MEASUREMENT SERVICES AVAILABLE
 

The Island Astronomy Institute is pleased to announce limited availability of nightscape surveys for the communities surrounding Acadia National Park, as well as limited availability within the state of Maine. We estimate forty good to excellent measurement nights available to us each year across this region. Each site survey takes 10 - 20 hours to complete, including an NPS Standard Resource Quality Report.

Individuals, municipalities, and conservation organizations seeking to balance economic development with the preservation of one of Maine’s unique qualities of place are encouraged to contact us for a fixed price quote.

The following four levels of service are available. To take advantage of marginal nights, we can provide a discounted site evaluation measurement. The fully documented environmental assessment report adds comprehensive support material to the basic NPS reports. Given the limited number of clear moonless nights available, the most promising opportunities for evaluation will receive highest priority.

• Single-run site evaluation with poor or better results
• Single NPS standard baseline measurement with good or better results
• Three NPS standard baseline measurements with standard resource quality report and Bortle scale assessment, guaranteed good or better quality
• Detailed site environmental assessments and inventories

Wilderness Quality Measurement

Nightscapes transcend the scale of traditional landscapes by hundreds of miles. The expansive nature of light pollution and its direct correlation to population density make it an effective indicator the wilderness remaining in Maine. An element of Maine's quality of place increasingly at risk.

There a direct correlation between light pollution and the human footprint, as shown by this comparison from the 2001 World Atlas of Artificial Night Sky Brightness and the Human Footprint Map created by the Wildlife Conservation Society of Canada.

Measurement-related Services

• Starlit Communities: A public lecture developed for communities throughout Maine
• Light Pollution 101: Introductory planning board orientation
• Student service learning using the hand-held Sky Quality Meter
• Municipal lighting ordinance development and consulting
• Public outreach materials