In a much delight to the tourists and a major boost to tourism sector, India will have its first-ever dark sky reserve in Ladakh. Radha Krishna Mathur, the Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh, will virtually inaugurate the facility on October 31.
The initiative by the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC), the Union Territory administration, and the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bengaluru aims to lower light pollution in the region for better observations and to boost the local economy by harnessing the power of astronomy.
The Dark Sky Reserve is located at Hanle, which is about 300 kilometers away from Ladakh and is part of the Changthang Wildlife Sanctuary. As part of the initiative, 24 astro ambassadors have been selected from a cluster of five villages in and around the Indian Astronomical Observatory (IAO).
The Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council will fund the purchase of 8-inch Dobsonian telescopes for the astro ambassadors, who will use them to observe the universe and open up a new source of income. The ambassadors will assist travellers coming to Hanle in order to obtain a glimpse of the Milky Way galaxy.
