A Protected Night Sky Over Flagstaff

Explanation: This sky is protected. Yesterday marked the 50 year anniversary of the first lighting ordinance ever enacted, which restricted searchlight advertisements from sweeping the night skies above Flagstaff , Arizona , USA . Flagstaff now enjoys the status of being the first International Dark Sky City , and maintains a lighting code that limits lights from polluting this majestic nighttime view . The current dark skies over Flagstaff not only enable local astronomers to decode the universe but allow local sky enthusiasts to see and enjoy a tapestry contemplated previously by every human generation. The above image, pointing just east of north, was taken two weeks ago at 3 am from Fort Valley, only 10 kilometers from central Flagstaff. Visible in the above spectacular panorama are the San Francisco Peaks caped by a lenticular cloud . Far in the distance, the plane of the Milky Way Galaxy arcs diagonally from the lower left to the upper right, highlighted by the constellations of Cassiopeia , Cepheus , and Cygnus . On the far right, the North America Nebula is visible just under the very bright star Deneb .