Some like it hot. OK, we do that here for sure.
But we like it dark as well, really dark.
Why so, you may ask.
Here's the reason.
Tucson is home to The Kitt Peak National Observatory. If urban lighting brightens our night skies too much, we could lose the Observatory.
Tucson has an observatory? Yes and a quite spectacular one to boot.
The Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO) is a United States astronomical observatory located on 2,096 m (6,880 ft) Kitt Peak of the Quinlan Mountains in the Arizona-Sonoran Desert on the Tohono O'odham Nation, 88 kilometers (55 miles) southwest of Tucson.
The observatory is considered to be part of the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO), although some of the telescopes located here, like those at the MDM Observatory, belong to other groups such as the University of Arizona's Steward Observatory. With 26 independent telescopes, it is the largest, most diverse gathering of astronomical instruments in the world.
Now you know. And, as a related note, even the Vatican has a telescope in the area, on nearby Mount Graham.
So, in order to keep the lights as dark as possible, the Tucson area for years has tried to be sensitive as to what sorts of lights are used around town, and how they could light the sky, as well as their intended earthbound targets.
The efforts seem to have paid off. In the past 20 or so years the Tucson area has added hundreds of thousands of new people. In spite of that, and due to the combined efforts of various agencies and groups, the darkness has stayed remarkably constant during those years.
We know we can still do better. Our commercial lighting regs of up to 450,000 lumens per acre pale in comparison to Flagstaff's limit of 50,000 to 100,000 lumens.
Still, you can still see the stars with the naked eye in most spots in the Tucson area.
But with the telescopes at the Kitt Peak National Observatory, well, WOW! And isn't WOW what ut's all about at the end of the day?
This is a REAL ESTATE blog, after all is said and done. If you wish to be kept abreast of the monthly Tucson sales figures, just drop me an email and I'll send you our monthly reports, as well as the really big end of year report.
If I can provide more information about Tucson AZ real estate and surrounding areas, the housing market, or otherwise assist you, friends or family in a home search, please contact me by phone or text at (520) 850-5995, call me toll free at (800) 557-9798 or email me at TucsonAgent@msn.com
Website is www.TucsonBuyersAgent.com
Jon Quist is Tucson's Buyers Only Agent
Serving Tucson, Oro Valley, Marana, Vail, Sahuarita, Saddlebrooke, La Reserve, The Catalina Foothills, The Sabino Canyon area, and Eastern Pima County
Comments(1)