Astro tourism in India is blooming currently with various activities up on its sleeves. One of the world’s highest-located sites for optical, infrared, and gamma-ray telescopes, Hanle in Ladakh, welcomes India’s first Dark Sky Reserve as a part of Changthang Wildlife Sanctuary. The site aims to have activities which will help in building and boosting local tourism and economy via science.
Taking it to social media, the UT administration, LAHDC Leh and the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) were present at the signing of the tripartite MoU for launching the Dark Space Reserve. According to reports, once declared as the Hanle Dark Sky Reserve (HDSR), the administration, local council members along with the scientists will collectively work towards the preservation of the night sky from unwanted light pollution and illumination — a serious threat to the scientific observations and natural sky conditions and a growing menace, the world over.
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Why Hanle out of all the places? There’s a reason behind that. Hanle is located in Ladakh’s cold desert region – away from any form of human disturbance and nature at its best. Clear sky conditions and dry weather which almost exist throughout the years, also make Hanle the right decision. For all astronomical observations and sky-gazing techniques, Hanle makes it the best.
Once HDSR is set up, both locals and tourists will follow the regulations imposed on the outdoor lighting, use of high beam vehicle headlights, light-reflecting shields and dark curtains among other things to reduce light pollution and other unwanted illumination.
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Ladakh is not the only place to offer dark sky reserve. Jaipur’s Jantar Mantar provides India’s first astro-tourism. Various other states like Rajasthan, Sikkim, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand, Tamil Nadu and Kerala are offering pristine stargazing opportunities in the country too.
