The Deerlick Astronomy Village (DAV) is a dark sky site that is dedicated to the specific needs of amateur and professional astronomers. 

DAV is located in the very darkest skies in Sharon Georgia, away from big city lights but a convenient distance from major metropolitan areas in the South Eastern USA. DAV Coordinates: 33.561420, -82.763140 +N33 33' 41.11" -W82 45' 47.30" Elevation: 550 - 600ft.

Maintaining the dark sky is paramount for every visitor's shared enjoyment - and to respect the time, effort and money invested by all visitors to DAV. For this reason we have established the following strict rules to protect DAV from light intrusion:

- All white lights are prohibited on the field after sunset. Even the slightest amount of white light can ruin the darkness needed for optimal stargazing and astrophotography. White light causes our eyes to lose their dark adaptation, severely limiting what we are able to see in the night sky.  All lighting must be red/amber in color. This includes flashlights, phone screens, camera displays, vehicle lights etc. Astrophotographers must take every possible precaution to ensure their screens remain covered/filtered and do not affect others.

- You must arrive on the field before sunset. The gates to the field will automatically close at sunset and only open with a DAV membership code. Once the gates are locked, there will be no ability to access the field, as there is no parking available outside the gates. All attendees and guests must arrive before sunset in order to participate, the gates will be open during the day to allow access to the field. The gate will open to allow anyone to leave, however driving on the field without lights puts both people and equipment at risk, so plan to avoid doing this.

These rules are strictly enforced due to some unfortunate incidents that have occurred at recent events:

• Guests arrived after dark and drove onto the observing field with their headlights on, went the wrong way, and then drove onto the residents' field. 
• Guests turned on their phone flashlights "just for a few minutes", or continually opened their car doors without suppressing their vehicle's interior lights. 
• Guests drove on the field without headlights, putting other people and their equipment at risk.

As a result of this type of unsafe and disruptive behavior, cameras have been installed on the field to ensure that all attendees are respectful of the property, and considerate of others who have traveled to enjoy the pristine dark skies.

We appreciate your full cooperation in following these rules. They are in place to ensure we can provide the best possible dark sky conditions for everyone's observing sessions.