Mike Ikona of Boca Raton says the night sky at Big Cypress National Preserve looks like this: "It’s just a black velvet with diamonds popping up all over the place almost like a glitter.
"This is absolutely mind boggling how many stars are out here," he says.
Sky gazers from across the state come to night events, like this one, at Big Cypress.
Torres says this is the first time he’s ever looked through a telescope.
Luke Gommermann was a park ranger at the preserve and part of the team that worked on getting the “international dark sky” designation.
Gommermann takes me on a night walk through Big Cypress to spot the mating habits of fireflies.
Artificial outdoor lights in that area cause light pollution.
Central Florida’s Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park was designated a dark sky place last year, Dry Tortugas National Park near Key West is applying for the designation, and Umpierre says St. George Island State Park in the panhandle plans to, as well.
And I remember you took me out and just started pointing out constellations and showed me the Milky Way for the first time," Kelsey Omorrow says to her father.
So the father and daughter came to Big Cypress to see the dark sky together again.