Investigation of potential dark sky parks in Southwestern Turkiye

The TR61 province in Turkiye, which includes the cities of Antalya, Burdur, and Isparta, was chosen as the study area. Long-term (2012-2022) Artificial Light (AL) data from VIIRS on the Suomi-NPP satellite, along with cloud cover and elevation data, were analyzed in a GIS environment. The study identified 84 potential IDSP areas, concentrated mainly in Manavgat, Ibrad, and Akseki. The largest site spans 1,180 hectares, while the darkest shows a sky brightness of 21.57 mag arcsec-2 . Koprulu Canyon National Park, with 14 potential areas, was selected as the primary IDSP candidate. The measured AL values were consistent with the site selection, confirming the accuracy of the identified areas. Ground-based SQM observations in two regions of the park validated the satellite-derived AL data. Ongoing monitoring and the use of simple GIS techniques with available satellite data are recommended for future IDSP site selection Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of COSPAR.