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The Hill County Alliance is promoting public stargazing events across the region this month in part to draw attention to light pollution.
The Hill County population is growing and so are the number of outdoor lights on homes and businesses that can make starry nights harder to see.
The Dripping Springs-based alliance hopes area residents will participate in Hill Country Night Sky Month events to appreciate the stars above and to do their part to prevent light pollution.
Dawn Davies of the nonprofit alliance helps manage the Night Sky events. She says those who want to preserve starry nights should not only think about the brightness of outdoor lighting before they install it, but also the color temperature of those lights.
"Obviously, you know, encouraging folks to go towards that lower Kelvin color temperature—the orange, the yellow—as opposed to the bright white and white-blue lights are so common in the LED lighting industry."
Wimberley, about an hour's drive north of San Antonio, is one of 16 International Dark Sky places in the Hill Country, where light ordinances help residents see more stars.
Hill Country Night Sky events this month include the Howl at the Moon Dance Party Tuesday night in Wimberley.
Other upcoming events are planned in Horseshoe Bay on Oct. 16, Concan on Oct. 18, and at the Bulverde Oaks Nature Preserve on Oct. 26.
Learn more at HillCountryAlliance.org.
