Geauga County site gets coveted astronomical designation of 'International Dark Sky Park'

MONTVILLE, Ohio - On a good night, Hao Tang can walk into his yard in Akron and see a few bright stars in the sky.

But the glare of city lights keeps him from seeing much of anything else.

To show his 7-year-old son Moshi that there is more to see in the heavens, Tang, 38, recently drove an hour into the country, where McDonald's and Wendy's signs don't drown out nightly celestial shows.

"I was once on a farm away from the city," Tang said. "It was clear one night; it reminded me of my childhood days."

Tang was among 50 visitors last month who attended a public "star party" at Observatory Park, part of the Geauga Park District. It's the perfect place for such an event. In 2009, the park applied to be an International Dark Sky Park, and in August was granted the designation. It's a "silver tier" park, meaning that thousands of stars can be seen in the night sky. The park's official opening ceremony is scheduled for June 16. At night, of course.

"The number of stars people see at home is a pale fraction of what it used to be hundreds of years ago with the growth of cities and lighting," said Scott Kardel, a spokesman for the International Dark-Sky Association, based in Tucson, Ariz.

"People are losing something that has been inspiring people for centuries: that is the night sky."

The Geauga park is one of seven in the United States and 10 worldwide to receive the Dark Sky seal of approval, although more have applied, Kardel said.

Geauga Park District officials worked with nearby industries and homeowners to cut down on light pollution and improve visibility, said park naturalist Wayne Kriynovich. The park was granted provisional status a few years ago while the district built the facility. The land for the 1,100-acre park came from 11 properties purchased by the Geauga Park District for $3.2 million. The buildings on the site cost about $2.1 million, and will be paid for through grants and donations, said Tom Curtin, the park district's executive director.

The park district also paid $915,000 for a Nassau telescope from Case Western Reserve University. Plans include transforming the mothballed Nassau Astronomical Observing Station into a museum for the Cleveland Astronomical Society and opening the professional-grade telescope for public use.

Accessibility was a must for dark-sky certification, and the park was designed to be interactive from the ground to the sky, said Park District spokeswoman Sandy Ward.

For example, astronomers can plug their telescopes and laptops into outlets built into flat concrete slabs. A trail that loops around the park marks the distances between each of the planets and the sun -- a few steps represent the millions of miles that separate Mercury and Venus.

A giant "human sundial" is located at the park's entrance, where visitors can stand and mark the time of day. The only thing that can spoil the night is clouds, which obscured the view during the star party.

Instead, the crowd snuggled under blankets in the Robert McCullough Science Center and stared at the ceiling of the planetarium.

Adults and children alike gasped as naturalist Chris Mentrek zoomed in on nebulae thousands of light-years away.

Gina Pannetti, 12, was among those seated in the planetarium. The Huntsburg, Ohio, resident said she studied astronomy this year in her science class and sometimes stargazes in her backyard.

"I didn't know much about astronomy, but I'd take notes about whatever discoveries I thought I found," Pannetti said.

Earlier, a crowd gathered in the Oberle Observatory as Chagrin Valley Astronomical Society member Ian Cooper zoomed through space using a computer program and identified satellites and star clusters. Members of the society were on the park's advisory board as the facility was constructed. Cooper helped arrange for the installation of the 25-inch mirrored Oberle telescope. Devin Shannel watched Cooper work, his eyes glued to the computer monitor.

"If it can pick up satellites, can it pick up alien spacecrafts?" the 12-year-old West Farmington, Ohio, resident asked. (The answer is yes, but the program could not identify them.)

"This is a place kids can come to learn about stars, planetary motions and the scope of the universe," Cooper said. "The research (that) amateurs and kids can do here, there's nothing like it."

And maybe there will be a time when astronomers can catch a glimpse of something more than stars.

"I kind of want to see aliens," Devin said. You are not alone, Devin. You are not alone.