Low-light policy secures the clearest night skies in the U.S.

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This is one of the clearest urban night skies in the United States.

It’s so clear, that most nights, you can see the Milky Way. These are the nights over Dripping Springs, Texas. A town which has enforced strict light pollution laws to keep the stars shining.

The policy restricts the brightness and direction of artificial light within city limits. All street lamps must point only downwards, and house windows must have blackout shutters to keep the photons from escaping.

City planners are hoping their model will catch on and be applied in other urban areas, both in Texas and elsewhere, to ensure that the only bright things in the night sky are the stars in it.