A Gold-Tier View of the Universe
The Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve, established in June 2012, spans 4,367 square kilometers of New Zealand's South Island. It was the first reserve in the Southern Hemisphere and the first to receive "Gold Tier" status from the International Dark-Sky Association, signifying nearly non-existent light pollution. The reserve's exceptional darkness is officially rated as a level 2 on the nine-level Bortle scale, a quality of sky typically found only in the most remote locations on Earth. For comparison, a major city center ranks as a 9 on this scale.
This clarity is maintained by a strict lighting ordinance first enacted in 1981, which regulates outdoor lighting for the towns of Lake Tekapo, Twizel, and Mount Cook Village. The reserve encompasses the Aoraki / Mount Cook National Park and the Mackenzie Basin, a large glacial valley. In the center of the reserve is the University of Canterbury's Mount John Observatory, New Zealand's primary astronomical research center. The observatory's four optical telescopes are used to study extrasolar planets, the Magellanic Clouds, and near-Earth asteroids.