DARK SKIES: Hal Harmon of Bradford, having read our previous
column about the spectacular dark skies in this region, has a
suggestion for viewing: “I would go to Route 321 for dark skies …
between Willow Creek and Sugar Run. Lights in Willow Creek are
below the horizon, and there aren’t many anyway, so it would be a
good place, close by, to see the stars.”

TRACY RIDGE: Another local stargazer tells us that last summer,
she and two friends took their telescopes to a hilltop in the
Allegheny National Forest near the Tracy Ridge campground.

Sitting in their car with its lights off, the trio could not
even make out each other’s faces. The stars? The Milky Galaxy was
obvious to their naked eyes. That was good because they couldn’t
get their telescopes to work properly and ended up at the
planetarium in Buffalo, N.Y., the next day.

The sky at Tracy Ridge was just as dark as the darkest night sky
shown at the planetarium, she tells us.

EARTH HOUR: All that segues nicely to our promised follow-up to
events being held as part of this year’s International Year of
Astronomy.

The first event, already under way, is a grass-roots effort for
citizens to document the amount of relative darkness in any
particular region. We reported on that the other day.

A second project, started in 2007 in Australia, is called “Earth
Hour.” The campaign, which has spread across the globe with the
motto “It’s as simple as a flick of the switch,” hopes to get
people to turn off their lights for one hour starting at 8:30 p.m.
March 28.

Organizers are hoping to have one billion people in more than
1,000 cities internationally participate in this hourlong blackout.
Iconic buildings and landmarks from Europe to the Americas will
stand in darkness. More than 64 countries and territories are
participating in Earth Hour 2009.

The aim is to demonstrate it’s possible to take action on global
warming – as a planet. Earth Hour 2009 is a global call to action
to every individual, every business and every community. It is a
call to stand up, to take responsibility and to get involved in
working toward a sustainable future.

How to join in? Simply turn off your lights for an hour starting
at 8:30 p.m. March 28.