Save Our Skies
Preserve Big Bear's dark skies and stargazing opportunities
Big Bear Lake enjoys a unique quality when the sun goes down - an optimal environment for stargazing and night sky photography!
At 7000 feet and away from the bright metropolitan lights, Big Bear offers nightly views of constellations, planets, and even the Milky Way. But like any natural environment, it's as healthy as we keep it, and Big Bear's night skies are threatened by artificial lighting from urbanization - also known as light pollution.
A statistic...
In North America, the brightness of the night sky increases by 10.4% every year.
We are losing sight of one star per night due to light pollution. Vatch Arouchian, Big Bear Valley Astronomical Society
Tips to Keeping our Skies Dark
- Switch off unused lights, namely exterior and landscape lighting
- Design exterior lighting to point down towards the ground
- Use lower wattage light bulbs - 40 watts for porch or other exterior lighting