Beginning with the arrival of Percival Lowell and his Clark Telescope in 1894, Flagstaff has become one of the premier deep space research sites in the world. Our small city of around 63,000 citizens is the home of Lowell Observatory, the U.S. Naval Observatory's Flagstaff Station, and the National Undergraduate Research Observatory. The Navy Prototype Optical Interferometer (NPOI) is located on Anderson Mesa some 15 miles south of the city, and Lowell Observatory is building the Discovery Channel Telescope 40 miles to the southeast of town. The telescope, located within the Mogollon Rim Ranger District of the Coconino National Forest, is expected to be the fifth largest in the continental United States when completed.

We are also a dark-sky refuge for hundreds of resident amateur astronomers and thousands of visiting ones.

The world's first lighting ordinance was passed on April 15, 1958 by Flagstaff City Council. It banned advertising search lights that threatened to mar the night sky for professional astronomers. 2008 marks the 50th anniversary of that historic event and the beginning of the dark skies movement that is reducing unnecessary light pollution in many parts of the world.

On October 24th, 2001, the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA) designated the City of Flagstaff as the world’s first “International Dark-Sky City.”

Also in 2001 FDSC kicked off its first major public education and awareness effort with its Stars Up/Lights Down Campaign. In October and November we held our first Celebration of the Night, a five-week series of dark skies events. We also produced an art exhibition, NightVisions, at Flagstaff's Coconino Center for the Arts. 

In 2002 we launched the Million Lumens Campaign to help Flagstaff area businesses to upgrade their obsolete lighting by offering rebates on replacement fixtures and lighting design costs.

Smithsonian CultureFest came to town in 2006 to help celebrate the beauty and science of our night skies as one of the “ true cultural treasures of Arizona.” Two packed days of exhibits and events included pianist Liz Story in concert, a multi-media art exhibition, Native American tales of the night sky, Human Nature Dance Theatre, Lowell Observatory tours, and a U.S. Naval Observatory Open House.

To learn more about about light pollution view this slide show by FDSC's Chris Luginbuhl.

Contact us by email or by postal mail at PO Box 1892, Flagstaff, AZ 86002.

Need some dark-sky friendly outdoor lighting? FDSC highly recommends the Glarebuster. Other good outdoor lighting products are available online at Starry Night Lights.