Nebraska's most underutilized natural resource

Quick, name some of our region's top natural resources.

Water? Yes, we're sitting on one of the largest freshwater resources in the world, the Ogallala Aquifer.

It's the source of consternation and conflict, declining at the shallow edges and the focus of opposition to the Keystone XL pipeline, which skirts the aquifer to the northeast.

But that's not the resource we're thinking of.

Land? Yes, we have plenty of land, but that's affected by the first resource we mentioned. The productivity of our vast open spaces depend on the water supply, whether from pump irrigation, dams unreliable precipitation.

Oil? Southwest Nebraska sits on some of the region's richest oil deposits, a beehive of activity in recent years that will decline if the price of crude oil continues to drop.

Wind? Yes, but financial factors as well as lack of infrastructure have slowed wind power development.

The same argument holds true for solar power, for the time being. Infrastructure and financial factors are holding solar development back.

We're actually thinking about just the opposite of sunshine -- dark.

Nebraska is home to a "Star Party" every summer in the remote Sandhills south of Valentine, a mecca for astronomers who want to get away from the star-0bscuring glow of city lights.

It's hard to assign a value on dark skies, but star buffs like Vernon Whetstone, whose "What's Up" appears on this page, and every Wednesday, know their worth. A former Benkelman resident now living near Denver, Whetstone probably longs for the more pristine night skies of Southwest Nebraska.

"What's Up" readers and Star Party attendees must not be the only people in the state interested in astronomy.

The University of Nebraska at Kearney is now offering a bachelor of science in astronomy or a bachelor of science in astrophysics, the only undergraduate astronomy majors in the state.

Four new classes will be offered to students majoring in astronomy, astronomy methods I and II and astrophysics I and II.

"We already have the planetarium on campus, and we have dark skies out here in central Nebraska that are ideal for research," said Planetarium Director Lee Powell, assistant professor of physics and physical science.

The Kearney planetarium features a state-of-the-art projector, a Zeiss Skymaster ZKP4, which uses fiber optic technology to project each star onto a dome, creating a replica of the night's sky.

We don't have a planetarium at our disposal, but we do have the real thing, provided we have access to a clear sky not sullied by lights.

With the right preparation and plenty of dark sky, astronomy outings could be added to Southwest Nebraska's tourism arsenal, and elementary, secondary and college astronomy studies could be expanded.

The city, state and businesses should get involved as well, switching to efficient signs and fixtures that direct light downward where it will do the most good, rather than upward to the sky where it spoils the view.