ANSA NEWS!
Arkansas Natural Sky Association
ANSA is a membership-based 501(c)3 non-profit & the Arkansas chapter of DarkSky International.
💫 Hello Stargazers!
📸 Please be advised - this year we have updated our parameters for Photo of the Month. This change is to keep us more closely aligned with the spirit of our organization's purpose.
🌌 We will always welcome all images of the night time environment that show good lighting and bad lighting scenes, along with celestial images to include astrophotography. However, moving forward, ANSA's Photo of the Month will be limited to night-scape images that show the night sky (typically over a terrestrial scene) made with lenses, not telescopes.
🙏 Thank you all for continuing to submit your night photography to our group page. Our members, followers and the Dark Sky community at large truly enjoy seeing your work.
Arkansas Natural Sky Association (Group Page)
✨ Photo of the Month ✨
December 2025
📷: Mark L Wagner
"At the CCC overlook on Red Bluff Drive,
I set the tripod where others once stood.
Winter light slides away from the sky,
burning low, then letting go.
The shutter clicks —
not to keep the sun,
but to remember how it left. - MLW
My Skyfire app notification was the first hint that the evening might be worth slowing down for. The conditions looked promising, and as I made my way toward Little Rock, I decided the drive home could wait a little longer. I turned off my usual route and headed toward Petit Jean Mountain, letting the day stretch out a bit more than planned.
The CCC overlook on Red Bluff Drive was quiet when I arrived. The stonework, laid decades ago, framed a wide view of the valley below—unchanged, steady, and patient. I set up my camera and waited.
The sky shifted gradually, trading brightness for depth. Colors gathered, then thinned, as the landscape below slipped into shadow. It wasn’t a dramatic performance, just an honest closing to the day—subtle, measured, and complete in its own time.
When it was over, there was no sense of having captured something rare, only something true. I packed up and headed back toward Little Rock, grateful for the detour and for the reminder that not every worthwhile moment announces itself loudly—some simply ask you to stop and pay attention.
When I pulled back onto the road and started the drive home, 'Golden Embers' by Watchhouse came up on my playlist. Besides the title, the song just fit — the same calm, fading warmth as the sky I’d just left behind. The song settled in as the light disappeared, turning the rest of the drive into a continuation of the moment rather than an ending.
🎼I miss the old hymns
when she used to sing
The sparrows spread their mortal wings
Now they've all lighted
with the silence of strings
Like notes on the pages, she breathed life into all things
If you could help me to share the trouble
that you've got burning in you, then you can help me
And in our time together
Her memory will ever shine like golden embers in the night
Just like an old friend
Reach out to me
Bathe me in the light of understanding
And try to help me to share the trouble
that you've got burning in you, then you can help me
And in our time together
Her memory will ever shine like golden embers in the night🎶"
Becoming an International Dark Sky Place starts small but creates lasting impact. 🌙✨
The International Dark Sky Places program certifies locations across the dark-to-very-dark spectrum: from national parks and observatories to NGO-managed lands, villages, and even cities.
And while every place is unique, certification almost always begins the same way: with a small group of dedicated individuals working to protect their nightscape and set a positive example for their community and country.
Interested in bringing dark sky protection to your home region? Learn more about the process and how to apply: bit.ly/4jTHGGh
📷 Photo features International Dark Sky Community, Sedona, Arizona, taken by Matthew Costanza.
