South Australia's River Murray reserve given world recognition for one of darkest views of thousands of stars
The River Murray Dark Sky Reserve offers a view of between 2000 and 3000 stars.
Image by John White
South Australia in 2019 received the equivalent of a world heritage listing for the deepest view of nature: the night sky. The River Murray Dark Sky Reserve, within easy reach of Adelaide, was recognised as a gold-standard place, because of its near-pitch-black conditions, to observe the night sky.
The International Dark Sky Association, working to protect the view of the night skies from urban light pollution, gave the River Murray reserve its gold-standard rating after it tested for 21.9 darkness out of possible 22. A core site for night-sky viewing was being developed near the centre of the 2300 square kilometres reserve, straddling the river, within Swan Reach Conservation Park, and other events would be at Meldanda campground near the town of Cambrai.
The site is only 120 kilometres and a 90-minute drive from Adelaide, now the home of Australia’s space industry. The dark sky reserve is protected from the lights of Adelaide city and the Barossa Valley by the north-south Mount Lofty Ranges.
Between 2000 and 3000 stars can be seen from the River Murray Dark Sky Reserve, compared to about 200-300 stars visible in southern hemisphere urban areas. More stars, including a better view of the Milky Way, can be seen in southern skies than in the northern hemisphere.
The Mid Murray Landcare Group applied for International Dark Sky Association approval for the River Murray reserve that’s in the Mid Murray Council area and supported by the Astronomical Society of South Australia.
There are about 15 dark sky reserves in the world and only two others in the southern hemisphere in New Zealand and Namibia. There are also dozens of generally smaller dark sky parks, mainly in North America. Warrumbungle National Park in New South Wales in 2016 became Australia’s first dark sky park but it’s 500 kilometres or a six-hour car trip from Sydney.