Vibrant¹ pictures of star-strewn darkness. Incredible images of our galaxy² – the Milky³ Way – stretching across the night sky.

看看这些色彩缤纷的画面，黑暗的天空中繁星点点。这些绝美的图片，展现了银河在夜幕下一泻千里。

 

These photos have been taken from the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors⁴ – two national parks which have now been designated Dark Sky Reserves. The special status is given to areas around the globe with low levels of light pollution and good conditions for astronomy.

这些照片拍摄于约克郡谷地国家公园和北约克沼泽国家公园，两地均被列为 “黑暗天空保护区”。这一特殊名号是给予全球光污染程度低、天文条件良好的地区。

 

Richard Darn, Astronomer⁵

About eight out of ten Yorkshire people cannot see the Milky Way from where they live. You come here, and it stretches [from] one horizon to the other, it’s fantastic – river of light in the sky. Northern Lights – we can see the Northern Lights from here, very, very difficult to see from other parts, more industrial parts of Yorkshire. So really it’s a sky full of magic both here and in the Dales.

理查德·达恩     天文学家

“大约80%的约克郡人从他们居住的地方看不到银河。但你来到这里，就能看到银河从一侧的地平线贯穿天空，绵延到另一侧。太美了，像天空中的光之河。从这里还能看到北极光，但在约克郡的其它地区，工业化程度较高，很难看到北极光。所以，这里和约克郡谷地里的天空都充满了魔力。”

 

More than 1,300 square miles [3,366 square kilometres] combined – the two parks form one of the biggest areas in Europe to be given the status. They join five other dark reserves in the UK, including in Snowdonia and Exmoor.

这两个国家公园占地1300多平方英里（3366平方公里），是欧洲 “黑暗天空保护区” 最大的地区之一。除了这两个地区以外，英国还有五个 “黑暗天空保护区”，包括雪墩山国家公园和埃克斯穆尔国家公园。

 

Julie Hutton, Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority

It’s amazing news that we’ve got the designation and what’s really important is that this gives the opportunity to businesses here to extend the season in tourism - we have dark sky festivals in February half term. Obviously the season’s often quieter in that time of the year, so this is a much needed opportunity to help boost the economy.

朱莉·赫顿     约克郡谷地国家公园管理局（Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority）

“很高兴我们获得了这个称号，而真正重要的是，这给了当地的企业一个机会延长旅游旺季，比如，在二月学中假期那一周，我们会举办暗夜观星节。显然，这个季节往往是一年中的旅游淡季，所以这是提振经济所急需的机会。”

 

It's hoped the new status will help keep light pollution low, protect wildlife habitats, and attract visitors in winter months, when the sky is darkest, where, if you're lucky, you can see the expanse of night, beautifully illuminated⁶ – reminding us that our planet is one tiny part of a vast, star-scattered universe.

人们希望 “黑暗天空保护区” 这个新名号将有助于将光污染保持在低程度、保护野生动物栖息地、并吸引游客在天空最黑暗的冬季月份前来观光。如果你够幸运，就可以看到璀璨星光下的茫茫夜色，让人不禁感慨：我们的星球只是广袤无垠、星辰遍布的宇宙中的一小部分。

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