How did the Eastern Townships become a bright-star beacon? The region has earned a reputation for protecting our world's more quotidian darkness every night of the year.
How does spending a night gazing up at the unspoiled sky impact astrotourists? Is it enough to change how they think about light pollution, or does the sense of wonder fade like the milky way under city lights?
The health and environmental benefits of protecting a region from light pollution are already well established, and one only has to look at the stream of visitors to the Jasper Dark Sky Festival or the Alberta s newest dark sky preserve in Lakeland Provincial Park to get a sense of how "astrotourism" can boost rural economies.