The total eclipse of the sun is one of the most awe-inspiring natural phenomena that can be witnessed from Earth. As last week’s solar eclipse plunged cities across North America into darkness, most streetlights and outdoor lights in the path of totality were triggered to turn “ON” as their photocell controls detected the drop in ambient light levels, as they do at dusk every evening. 
 
At least a handful of forward-thinking communities in Indiana had a different idea. They wanted to enhance the eclipse viewing experience by taking advantage of the smart streetlight technology recently deployed by Duke Energy. Duke Energy had recently deployed energy-saving networked smart lighting controls on streetlights in these towns. These smart lights can be remotely controlled using TerraGo software. With TerraGo, these communities were able to selectively control the lights around the public viewing area, typically central parks, to ensure that unwanted light would not interfere with or diminish the eclipse experience of citizens and visitors. In this case, they used TerraGo to force the lights to remain off during the peak of the eclipse. 
 
Being able to control lights, on-demand, to eliminate light pollution during a once in a lifetime solar eclipse is definitely a “cool” use case. But it also hints at the potential for using this technology to control, dim, brighten manage and adapt outdoor lighting for all types of applications like emergencies, law enforcement, search and rescue, habitat protection, community events and more.