As a crescent month falling in the forest, I looked at the top of the cabin on my back to see how dark it was. The staring at me is bee’s bee, a herd of stars a sure sign of dark sky. From here, a deck facing the west of the woods of southern New Brunswick, Canada, no silence, a darkest skies in America.
The one who brings me here is not just astronomy But astrotoism. “The US only announced an astrotourism project along the US 89, from Canada to Mexico,” says Stéphane Picard, an astronomer and astrophotographer in The cliff valley’s durability. “It was impressed, but it unfolds a thousand miles. We have six dark-sky sites for 100 miles (160 kilometers) – and many unique experiences with astrotourism.”
Picard is one of the driving forces behind a corridor at Dark-Sky destinations along the dramatic bay in the fund, which is famous for many tides (as well as maple syrup). Calls the Dark-Sky Corridor fund, it can be the most powerful cluster confirmed Dark-Sky Reserves in the world.
New Darks-Sky Reserves in New Brunswick
New Brunswick has a pedigree on black-sky sites. 70% -Forested Province, which Border Maine is already in the house of three Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (Racsidented Dark-Sky Preserves: Kouchibouac National Park,, Mount Carleton Provincial Park away north, and National Park Fund to the beach. This is the last, hosting the annual Star Party in the Rascs, that’s an anchor for the project.
“Tourism here is always dependent on things like snowmobiling and fishing because those with measurable data – permits and licenses – but now we have real numbers for Sky at night“Picard said, found that the 2024 Total Solar Eclipse became approximately $ 40 million in economic activity. Recent years saw an influx of scenes of Aurora Borealisfurther caused by this fashion.
“If the sky of the night is clear, there is nothing like that,” says Picard.
Dark-Sky Corridor funds
With the Fund National Park in its center, the corridor will include the following sites:
- New River Beach Provincial Park Preserved by Nocturnal: This area will include camps, picnics, seashore seashore, beach shores in the middle of the US and Saint Brunswick border.
- Irving park in nature The Urban Star Park: This wooden park at the immediate part of Saint John’s Saints is the Saints’ home can easily access dark skies.
- Fund-st. Martinsero International Dark Community of Sky: This is a suggested fund’s community with historic country of advance and odd viewing on the beach. Where two UNESCO plans – Stonehamer Uneso Global Geopark and the Region of the Biosphere – overlap.
- Party Trail Provincial Park Dark-sky preserved: There are plans to add an RV Park and Campground Cabins in this 6,323-acrequeals) coastal heses, hillsides, shore shores, shores, shores and shores.
- Hopewell works in Provincial Park Preserved by Nocturnal: This site has views of the “herbelpot rocks,” the 39-to-69-to) sea stacks caused by seabag.
The northern edge will eventually expand in Kouchibouac National Park and despite the nova chotia, but for care for the cloudy skies and encourage the cloudy skies in southern southern Brunswick.
Astrotourism experiences
Gark-sky calls are currently looking to serve as the foundation for Astrotoism in New Brunswick. I have been carried out by corridor in corridor parks, from more access to Irving Park and New River Beach Provincial Park at the party itself. There are places to stay inside it – most of the campgrounds and cabins – but this is Dark-Sky destinations In between so are real gems. To the beautiful St. Martins (population 4,000) is The cottage of water keepingWhose extensive lawn and hot tubes ignore the world’s highest tides in the bay of funds.
It’s minutes from some historical caught bridges . To the nearby Norton to the north, far from the light pollution (and near the Holes of ice in Midland) is Domo and experience in the forest areaIn which a couple of geodesic eco domans have each luxury possible, including serwitzing decks, a wood fired on wooden tree level. .
Only outside the Fund National Park in Alma Falcon Ridge InnA bed-and-breakfast with odd views of the full funds in Cape Charnecto Provincial Park in Nova Scotia. “We have guests who want to take the stars but are afraid to go to Fundy National Park at night,” says the owner, William Hutchinson. The park is the habitat of black bears, coyotes and moose.
“I put a guest outside outside, and he got some great astro shots – no more light on pollution here,” said Hutchinson.
Another perfect different astrotourism experience can be obtained at Broadleaf Ranchlocated near the Riverside-Albert. The ranch has cabins preparing wood, a mountain tree and a number of glamping pods similar to the Lights, Points, and even the covered bridges. All are front-facing Spectacular Milky Way Views. It’s a astrophotographer’s dream – like that of the nearby cape’s picture During my trip by legendary astro-immerer Alan Dyer.
There are many stories and experiences to tap on New Brunswick, from Star lore in mi’kmaw First countries of people Hike at night That tells the story of how black families escaped slavery by following the stars from the Maine in the 19th century.
“We can have 200 experiences with New Brunswick’s astroticism, and they can all be unique,” Picard said.
People at night
For small bay of fundy coast communities, such as St. Martins, astrotourism is a no-brain. “The people here often know that they have many heavens, but they do not know what to do with them,” said Elaine Shannon, Vice President of St. Martins and District Chamber of Commerce. “Now, many people start to understand what it means.”
A gate of the Party of Party, known to red cliffs, caves and bird care, as well as its outer location. It also began hosting star parties and astronomical events while promoting dark skies.
“We have three campgrounds here where you can stargaze and a lighthouse nearby with great views, but when i searched online for photos of this area at night, there’s almost nothing,” said jordan jamison, owner and operations manager Bay of adventures fund and President of St. Martins and District Chamber of Commerce.
For astrophotographers mainly preceding originality, that is gold dust. Also that is true for St. Martins, as reliable to see many days of the day.
“If 1 of 10 people take a trip to astrotoism, it means people staying all night, eating at our restaurants,” Jamison said. That feeling was echoed by Micha Fardy, Executive Director of Fund friends In Alma, trying to add tourism to the area around the National Park fund.
“Astrotoism is slow tourism – it has become trippers on the day of overnight guests, especially off-season,” he said. “But the number one thing is that the local community understands the importance of black skies – not because it is a tourism in tourism, but because it is important in the ecosystem we live.”
A rising drain for astrotourism
Some Canadian areas showing the raw power of nature such as the fund’s bay, moving 100 billion tons of water Every day – more than all the rivers of the world tied together – and have a part of the tidal of about 52 feet (16 meters). In hopeful stones, you can walk to the ocean floor under the stackings “The Flowerpot” stacks of water and kayak in their crowns.
Before I left the province, I stopped to witness the famous tidal that puts the petitcodiac (the “Chocolate River’s borne marks the river, which sent a long hole in the passage. Gravitational Bull in a new SupermoonThis is a reminder that the moonThe influence of influencing paths is louder than New Brunswick Coast than anywhere else in the world.
“Astronomy looks over the things beyond the horizon,” says Picard. “Astrotoism about what is inside the horizon.”
With the cloudy sky corridor, the astrotourism of New Brunswick looks to rise like its tides.
Editor’s note: Traveling and housing for this article about supported by Tourism new brunswick.
