WELCOME TO NORWOOD

Western Colorado’s First Dark Sky Community

ADVOCATE. EDUCATE. PROMOTE.

Representing a small community in southwestern Colorado, Norwood is one of the most ideal places to gaze up at the stars.

After nearly three years of hard work on the part of a small team of volunteers, Norwood, Colorado has been designated as the newest International Dark Sky Community by the International Dark-Sky Association. Norwood is the first International Dark-Sky Association “Dark Sky Community” on the Western Slope of Colorado and the second Dark Sky Community in the Colorado. Norwood is now part of 22 International Dark Sky Communities around the world, 15 of which are in the US, with others being in Canada, Denmark, Germany, Scotland, and the U.K.

NORWOOD DARK SKY ADVOCATES

We work to protect the beautiful night skies that we enjoy in the Norwood area for present and future generations.

Living in Norwood Colorado, we are a group of interested astronomers that marvel in the miracles that the universe provides. “Approximately 80% of the world’s population can no longer see the Milky Way due to the high levels of light pollution in cities and industrialized remote landscapes. In Norwood you can see the Milky Way year ‘round, even the faintest parts; in the summer you can see it even before the end of twilight.”

We have gathered a group of amateur astronomers that will help disseminate our knowledge throughout our neighborhood. As we post scientific concepts of the cosmos monthly in The Norwood Post and focus on certain stellar events, hopefully, we can better inform the world of the vastness of our universe. Additionally, plans will be made to host Star Parties in the future that can help citizens interact face to face with these experts as they explain the enigmas that surround us. Here, people can use current technology and impressive telescopes to gaze into the heavens at the beautiful expanse of space and its heavenly bodies.

Our Goals

• Advocate for the protection of the night sky
• Educate the public and policymakers about night sky conservation
• Promote environmentally responsible outdoor lighting
• Empower the public with the tools and resources to help bring back the night
• Educate the public and landowners the advantages of using Dark-Sky certified lighting fixtures and equipment for the environment, their security, and their bottom-line
• Encourage the community, businesses, government agencies and leaders by helping them recognize the economic benefits of adopting non-light-polluting practices and preserving our dark nighttime sky

Norwood’s first picture of the deep-space Andromeda Galaxy taken by David Elmore

INTERNATIONAL DARK-SKY ASSOCIATION

The International Dark-Sky Association (IDA) was started in 1988. Its mission: to preserve and protect the nighttime environment and our heritage of dark skies through environmentally responsible outdoor lighting. IDA achieves its goal by educating the public to the many damaging effects of light pollution, encouraging people to use non-light polluting shading and setup for outdoor lighting, and by having governmental organizations adopt ordinances that reduce or eliminate light pollution.

IDA began its Dark Sky Site Program in 2001 that certifies Dark-Sky Communities, Parks, Reserves, Sanctuaries and Developments of Distinction. They grade prospective communities on 3 major aspects: Community support, measuring the interest of the local government, businesses and townspeople; scientific measurement of the darkness; and local government adopting local ordinances and land-use codes that require all new outdoor lighting to be IDA-Compliant, a set of stringent requirements for shading and light color and intensity.