The goal of the KIRB Night Sky initiative is to provide education, guidance, and programming regarding the importance of dark Night Skies to Real County and the Frio and Nueces Canyons.
Real County is well known for its beauty and natural resources, including the Frio River, Nueces River, rolling hills and stunning vistas—day and night. KIRB works to educate landowners and visitors about the benefits of dark skies for wildlife, humans, and for the promotion of astrotourism. Programs are designed to inform homeowners, businesses, and tourists about ways you can help protect the scenic nightime beauty we sometimes take for granted.
What’s going on in our night sky this June?
- June has the longest day of the year in the northern hemisphere. On the 21st we are at our summer solstice. The earliest sunrise will be June 14th at 6:38 am and the latest sunset will be June 29th at 8:43pm. For more dates and times, visit the sun tables at TimeAndDate.Com .
- The beginning and end of June are full moons, 5/31 and 6/29. The June full moon is called the Strawberry Moon. The new moon is June 14th and around that date will be the best time for looking at the stars. For more dates and times, visit the moon tables at TimeAndDate.Com .
- On the 15th, Mercury is in the west 25 degrees above the horizon at sunset. Venus is in the western sky at sunset. Mars rises about 2 to 3am in the morning. Jupiter is setting at 9 to 10pm. Saturn is rising about 1 to 2am during June.
- June 12th, or a few days before and after, look for Mercury, Venus, and Jupiter in a line above the northwestern horizon, a half-hour to an hour after sunset.
- June 19th the Beehive Cluster is just .7 degrees below Venus.
You can see a lot with your naked eyes or a set of binoculars this June
Overhead you should see the Big Dipper overhead just a bit towards the north. “Arc (by following the arc of the Big Dipper’s handle) to Arcturus”, “spike (continue) to Spica”, and “crow” (again continue 8 degrees) to the constellation Corvus, the crow. Arcturus, Spica, and another star, Denebola, to the west in the constellation Leo, form the Spring Triangle, a large equilateral triangle. In the eastern sky as the night progresses and the Milky Way rises higher into the sky, three other bright stars, Vega, Altair, and Deneb, rise to display the Summer Triangle.
With your binoculars, a globular star cluster M13, the Hercules Cluster, in the constellation Hercules, halfway between Vega and Arcturus.
For more celestial objects to see, check out the back of a the current month’s sky map.
NIGHT SKY FRIENDLY BUSINESS RECOGnition program
WHAT IS IT?
- It is a program sponsored by Keep It Real Beautiful and Friends of the Night Sky, endorsed by the Hill Country Alliance, and supported by the Frio Canyon Chamber of Commerce. Its purpose is to recognize businesses and organizations that have Night Sky Friendly outdoor lighting and to encourage others to follow suit.
WHY IS IT?
- The goal is to protect and preserve the treasured natural resource that is the Hill Country’s starry nighttime skies. The program encourages the practice of responsible outdoor lighting. Such lighting will prevent light from escaping above the horizon into the nighttime sky, causing sky glow and glare, forms of light pollution.
WHAT’S IN IT FOR MY BUSINESS?
- The starry nighttime sky is a natural wonder to be enjoyed by all who live in or visit Real County and all our river canyons.
- There are almost 4 million people who live in light polluted urban and suburban areas, within short driving distances, where it is almost impossible to view pristine nighttime skies. For many of these people, an overnight trip to our area to see the stars would be a treat. “Heads in beds” means more business for our motels, B&Bs, restaurants, service stations, and other commercial entities as well as for our state park. Protecting our night sky from light pollution ensures this valuable resource will endure.
- You can advertise as “Night Sky Friendly,” attracting even long distance and international travelers who are seeking the natural beauty of dark night skies.
HOW CAN MY BUSINESS PARTICIPATE?
- All outdoor lighting on your premises is shielded and aimed downward so that no light trespasses beyond the business property boundary or above the horizontal plane into the sky. Lighting is directed only when and where it is needed for the task at hand. Motion detector lighting and extinguished lighting after hours is preferred.
- Lighting is not so bright as to cause glare or to reduce visibility in unlit areas.
- The color of outdoor lighting is amber or warm white versus bright white or blue. Lighting with a color temperature of less than or equal to 3000 Kelvin is ideal.
- Any business or organization in the area can request that the Friends of the Night Sky team conduct an evaluation of its outdoor lighting to determine if it qualifies for recognition and/or to recommend lighting solutions for problematic fixtures.
HOW WILL MY BUSINESS BE RECOGNIZED?
A business or organization that meets the criteria listed above receives recognition as a Night Sky Friendly Business with:
- A Certificate of Merit presented by Keep It Real Beautiful (KIRB) and Friends of the Night Sky for display inside your business.
- A window decal display to announce to customers your recognition as a Night Sky Friendly Business
- The right to use the Night Sky Friendly Business logo in your advertising, including on your website
- A listing as a night sky friendly business with a link to your business’s website on the websites of the Frio Canyon Chamber of Commerce, Keep it Real Beautiful, and the Hill Country Alliance
- Special recognition at any Night Sky events held by the Keep It Real Beautiful/Friends of the Night Sky
- Publicity in local media outlets
KIRB RECOGNIZED night sky FRIENDLY businessES
TxDot-Leakey Office
The Springs Retreat
Crider’s East Cabins
Camp Riverview
Frio Canyon Vineyard and Leakey Drug Tasting Room
Dora’s Nursery
Historic Leakey Inn/The Back Porch
please support these night sky FRIENDLY businessEs and thank them for helping to protect our hill country night skies!
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Annual October night sky month posters set of all 6 years now available FOR $50 DONATION
MORE INFORMATION:
Why should we decrease light pollution/improve Night Skies?
Hill Country Dark Night Skies Initiatives Gain Momentum in Real and Surrounding Counties
