We all should be dark-sky towns

I applaud the group pushing for Barrington Hills to become a Dark Sky Community (Oct. 18). Such a community requires its outdoor lighting to point downward with protective shielding to prevent light from scattering toward the sky.

Here's the big advantage of being a Dark Sky Community: You can go outdoors on a clear night and see countless stars, including the Milky Way. Why is the Milky Way important? Because the gigantic grouping of stars in the Milky Way is the galaxy we live in. Yes, our sun is just one of billions of stars in our Milky Way galaxy. The galaxy is so big, it would take light, traveling at 186,000 miles a second, 100,000 years to travel from one end of our galaxy to the other.

Drive 30 or 40 miles out in the country on a night with clear skies where the sky is truly dark and gaze up at the Milky Way. Ponder the beautiful sight. Picture yourself, our planet Earth, and our sun (star) as being a part of this huge galaxy.

Typical city dwellers, accustomed to helter-skelter nighttime lighting, never get to see the Milky Way. What a shame. Worried about nighttime security in a Dark Sky Community? Well, don't. Properly designed lighting can provide all the security that is needed while preventing light scatter into the nighttime sky.

Joe Schrantz

Villa Park