San Diego Dark Sky Festival
Held in the rural hills of Julian (August 2025), the San Diego Dark Sky Festival was an unforgettable celebration of the Perseid meteor shower. More than a night of astronomy, the festival was an all-day community gathering of sky lovers, scientists, educators, artists, and dark sky advocates from across the region inspiring the growing movement to protect our natural night skies and celebrate their beauty, science, and importance. More than 1500 attendees experienced the magic of Julian’s starry night sky!
International Dark Sky Week
International Dark Sky Week is an annual celebration of our night sky! Our 2025 observance took place from April 21st-28th. San Diego County residents enjoyed a variety of activities to learn about the dark sky movement, experience the tranquility of nighttime, spark curiosity about nocturnal creatures, glimpse Lyrids meteors, and view our Milky Way Galaxy! You can view the full list of the events here, and download the events flyer, in either PDF or DOCX format.
Although the group events and special presentation are in the past, there are a number of virtual activities in which you can still particpate. There are lots of Local Dark Skies to visit in San Diego County and additional ways to Discover and celebrate the night. Don’t forget to take the DarkSky Pledge to protect the night!
The next International Dark Sky Week will be celebrated April 13th-20th, 2026. So mark your calendars and plan to join in the fun!
Night Sky Poetry and Imagery
Enjoy poems paired with images of the night sky at several National Parks in a collection titled Reflections on Night. Did you know that more than 40 of our U.S. National Parks and National Monuments are certified International Dark Sky Places?
Dark Skies Exhibit in Santa Ysabel
22135 Highway 79, Santa Ysabel, CA 92070
The Santa Ysabel Nature Center has a permanent Dark Skies exhibit with out-of-this-world information on natural darkness, light pollution, and its impact on back country wildlife as well as our ability to view the cosmos. Turn a dial and see what a star-filled sky above the San Diego skyline would look like if light pollution were reduced! Learn more about this award-winning 6,000-square-foot LEED Gold and Zero Net Energy facility and star-gazing hotspot at Santa Ysabel Nature Center (sdparks.org).
DIRECTIONS: From CA-78, head NORTH on CA-79 for approximately ¼ mile. Look for the sign/monument near guard rail, and enter through green gates. Drive up the hillside to the nature center building.
IMPORTANT NOTE ON LOCATION: The nature center building is NOT visible from the roadway! It was designed to blend into the environment, so please use the directions and map to help you find your way. GPS navigation may NOT be accurate.
“Lights Out, San Diego!” Campaign to Protect Migrating Birds
Millions of migrating birds are harmed and killed each year from artificial light at night. DarkSky San Diego County and the San Diego Bird Alliance are partnering on the “Lights Out, San Diego!” campaign to build awareness about how light pollution impacts migrating birds and other wildlife. You can help provide safe passage for birds traveling to and through San Diego County on the Pacific Flyway by turning off unnecessary outdoor lighting from 11:00 p.m. until 6:00 a.m. during migration season. Take the pledge!
Learn more at Lights Out, San Diego!.
View live nighttime radar counts of San Diego County bird migration activity and daily totals on BirdCast (active during migration season).
“Losing the Dark“
“Losing the Dark” is a short planetarium show from DarkSky International introducing light pollution and three simple actions people can take to help mitigate it, available for streaming or download in 15 languages.
“The Sky Tonight” Planetarium Show & Telescope Viewing at Fleet Science Center
Fleet Science Center in Balboa Park at 1875 El Prado, San Diego, CA 92101
The Fleet Science Center’s ‘The Sky Tonight’ planetarium show is held on the first Wednesday of each month. Following the show, San Diego Astronomy Association (SDAA) astronomers set up telescopes outside, on the Prado near the fountain, for FREE public sky viewing (weather permitting). Visit web site for tickets and details.
“The Sky Tonight” Planetarium Show, Movie, & Telescope Viewing at Palomar College
1140 West Mission Road, San Marcos, CA 92069
Each Friday evening, the Palomar College Planetarium hosts two separate ticketed activities: ‘The Sky Tonight’ planetarium show and a fulldome movie. At dusk, San Diego Astronomy Association (SDAA) astronomers set up telescopes outside for FREE public sky viewing (weather permitting).
7:00 p.m. – “The Sky Tonight” is a live, narrated planetarium presentation by a college astronomer. Learn about constellations and planets visible in San Diego. Includes a virtual visit to our Moon, the planets, and more!
8:15 p.m. – Fulldome movie exploring outer space, moons, space flight, or another astronomic theme, shown on the entire planetarium dome overhead.
FREE from dusk until 9:30 p.m. – Telescope viewing with San Diego Astronomy Association (SDAA) astronomers (weather permitting).
IMPORTANT NOTES: See web site for directions, GPS may not be accurate. Ticketed activities are indoor events and are NOT AFFECTED by bad weather. Arrive early, LATE SEATING NOT ALLOWED. Advance, online ticket purchase is recommended, as shows do sell out.
“Save the Sky” Children’s Animated Audiobook
Watch this beautifully animated story about light pollution and the night sky, for children, by Bethany Stahl.
Online Space Trivia
Can you pass the Kindergarten Astronomy Test? Engage family members and friends to learn and have fun testing your knowledge on planets, constellations, the sun and moon, even the International Space Station (ISS)! Is it true that one of Jupiter’s moons is bigger than Mercury? Take the quiz to find out!
Light Pollution Articles by Local DarkSky Advocates
The 2023 International Dark Sky Week celebration in San Diego County featured three essays from DarkSky advocates from San Diego, Julian, and Temecula in the local section of the San Diego Union Tribune print edition and online!
Note, dates reflect the 2023 International Dark Sky Week dates.
Self-Certify Your Home as Dark Sky Friendly
Commit to protecting the night, every night, by taking a quick survey of your home lighting to see if it’s nature, neighbor, and night sky friendly. Simple changes like shielding or re-aiming a light or switching to a warmer color bulb are often all that’s needed. Proudly display your certificate during International Dark Sky Week!
Globe at Night ~ Citizen Science Project
Engage your children as citizen-scientists in ‘Globe at Night’ – observe and report night sky brightness from your own backyard!
The Globe at Night program is an international citizen-science campaign to raise public awareness of the impact of light pollution by inviting citizen-scientists to measure their night sky brightness and submit their observations from a computer or smart phone. Light pollution threatens not only our “right to starlight”, but can affect energy consumption, wildlife and health. More than 200,000 measurements have been contributed from people in 180 countries over the last 14 years, making Globe at Night the most successful light pollution awareness campaign to date! Visit Globe at Night to learn more: www.globeatnight.org.
Star Party recordings from Curiosity Peak Observatory in Julian
Jupiter-Saturn conjunction, solar star party, light pollution comparison star party, and many more videos to choose from!
“The Night Sky Through Navajo Eyes”
by Ravis Henry
Ravis Henry belongs to the Towering House Clan and was born of the Coyote Pass-Jemez Clan of the Navajo Tribe. He originates from a place called Alamo, New Mexico, but was born, raised, and still resides in Canyon de Chelly/Chinle, Arizona. Currently, Ravis is a Park Ranger with the National Park Service and has been working in the green and grey since 2009, mostly all at Canyon de Chelly National Monument. He works in the field of Interpretation and Education, sharing the stories and history of his people with visitors from around the world. Ravis is a Traditional Knowledge holder and storyteller for his people, and he’s learning the ancient ceremonial ways of the Navajo. He is also an artist/silversmith, creating pieces inspired by the stories of the land and his people. In this presentation, Ravis will introduce the Navajo perspective of the night sky, briefly sharing the stories of how the stars came to be by the acts of the Deities and the Coyote. He will also introduce the Navajo constellations, along with the stories and teachings behind the individual constellations as they are understood by the Navajo People, in this video.
In Conversation with Astronaut Nicole Stott and Tim Russ
Veteran NASA Astronaut Nicole Stott joins in a discussion with entertainment industry veteran and visual astronomy enthusiast Tim Russ about what her transformative view of our home planet from space taught her about Earth and our mission to protect it.
Dark Skies and Light Pollution: An Art-Historical Approach
Contemplation of stars, planets, and galaxies have inspired religions, philosophies, myths, and stories and consideration of visual images of the sky over time provides a basis for protecting the Dark Sky. View the video featuring Valerie Shrimplin.