There are presently only two in the world, both in North America, but now it looks like Galloway Forest Park, in remote southwest Scotland, is going to be a shoe-in for international Dark-Sky Park status. A Dark-Sky Park is one where the darkness level reaches it’s lowest point on land, recorded as Bortle 2 (darkness levels of Bortle 1 are only recorded on the ocean). The result is seen in this photograph: around 7000 stars are visible from Galloway Forest Park compared to the few hundred you can see from most cities. The International Dark-Sky Association, based in Tucson, Arizona, will decide whether to grant the park Dark-Sky status on Nov 16 or 17.

Photograph taken from Galloway Forest Park, courtesy of Wigstownshire Astronomical Society