Town seen in new light

The Shire of West Arthur launched Darkan as an “astrotown” last Friday with a free community event dedicated to astronomy and stargazing. Known for its extraordinary night skies, Darkan joined the Astrotourism WA network last July. The area is low on light pollution, making it particularly attractive to astronomers and astrophotographers. Several sites have been identified as suitable for astrophotography, including some of the historical buildings in the district and a dedicated stargazing site at Hillman Siding. Darkan Photography Club’s Kerryn Chia said Astrotourism WA promoted shires and towns with dark skies and minimal light pollution. “WA has some of the lowest light pollution in the world and some of the best skies to view the stars,” she said. “What’s also pretty special is the Milky Way we see is the best part of the galaxy. “The northern hemisphere people don’t get to see it like we do.” She said astrotourism attracted tourists who otherwise might not put Darkan on their travel itinerary. “People that come to look at the night skies tend to stay overnight, which often means they’ll need accommodation and meals, so being on the astrotourism map brings tourists into town to contribute to the local economy,” Ms Chia said. Fifty people attended last Friday’s Star Light, Star Bright event, keen to learn more about astro-tourism and stargazing. The event was hosted by Astrotourism WA founder Carol Redford and included a laser-guided tour of the night sky above Darkan Football Oval. “Despite the poor weather during the day, the clouds broke and we ended up having a beautiful, balmy night with lovely clear skies, and the stars put on their best show,” Ms Chia said. Darkan Photography Club consists of amateur photographers and has been going for three years. Ms Chia said astrophotography was a challenging skill to master. “The best conditions are clear, cloudless skies, a week or two either side of a new moon when there’s not too much moonlight around,” she said. Astrophotography hotspots in and around Darkan include Arthur River, Six Mile Cottage and Lake Towerrinning. Ms Chia said she saw potential in a Wheatbelt astrotour highlighting other astrotowns, such as Wagin and Lake Grace.