(Pwllheli) Dark night falls on Ynys Enlli. Planets and shooting stars dot the sky, and the aurora borealis color the sea green and red. This spectacle earned this small Welsh island international recognition.
Ynys Enlli has become the first “starry sky sanctuary” in Europe, a distinction awarded to only 17 places in the world for their very low light pollution, which allows stargazing in exceptional conditions.
The island thus joins the atolls of the South Pacific or the Gabriela Mistral observatory in Chile. Three kilometers from the Welsh coast, the only human light comes from the faint glimmers of Dublin, the Irish capital, in the distance.
This recognition is a source of pride for the two permanent residents of the island, who have their heads in the stars. Mari Huws, 30, and her partner Emyr Owen have been caretakers for four years.
“We are delighted, it is important for the island”, explains Mari Huws, who defended the candidacy.
Lots of telescopes
On the mainland, residents of the nearby Llyn Peninsula in North Wales, a four-hour drive from Cardiff, have long known how special their skies are. Now they have a way to tell the world.
In the town of Pwllheli, the outdoor equipment store is stocked with telescopes.
“Now that the secret is no longer one, people want to know more,” notes Caroline Jones, administrator of the Bardsey Island Trust, which manages the site.
So much so that she had to use canned responses to deal with the influx of emails from stargazers. Amateur astronomers have settled on the highest point of the island to be as close to the sky as possible.
As light pollution skyrockets in cities around the world, clear skies are becoming increasingly rare and sought after.
But there is little chance that tourists will overwhelm Ynys Enlli.
Attendance is limited on the island, which is about half of Central Park in New York, and accommodations, in cottages, are already full for the season.
Darkness to preserve
Colin Evans is the island boatman. He loads his small ferry to supply the islanders, puts on his waders and takes the helm for a tough crossing.
The boat crosses the turquoise waters with a thud, passing a cove studded with bird droppings.
Enlli will soon welcome puffins and English shearwaters, a nocturnal bird that nests on the island whose darkness is a sanctuary for it.
The status conferred on the island is constantly reviewed, so the keepers do all they can to keep light pollution to a minimum.
They use sensors to turn off the lights during the day, and the headlight is fitted with red LEDs to keep interference to a minimum.
Once a month, when the moon is at its darkest, Mari Huws wakes up in the middle of the night to measure the quality of the night sky using a special device.
Wales has several other such reserves. But the stricter status of the island puts more emphasis on long-term protection and it is essential to preserve it.
The awarding body encourages people on the coast to use covered warm colored lighting to avoid disturbing the darkness.
By sharing the news about the island’s skies, “we can protect something that is fragile and has real value for the future,” explains Mari Huws. “When the sky is dark enough, you can see the whole universe above you. »