Leh: Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) releases film presents the idea behind the upcoming Hanle Dark Sky Reserve in Ladakh, India.
This is the story of how this venture will bring together astro-tourism as well as preserving dark skies for scientific research, in a collaboration between astronomers, the administration, and the local communities.
Light pollution is a serious global issue. According to a study, 80% of the world lives under a light-polluted sky, which adversely affects not only humans but also flora and fauna.
We are at severe risk of losing our night sky heritage to light pollution. Since the preservation and conservation of the night sky is of paramount importance, the Ladakh UT administration, along with the Ladakh Hill Development Council, and the Indian Institute of Astrophysics have initiated the establishment of Hanle as India’s First Dark Sky Reserve.
Around 250 km from Leh, Hanle is one of the world’s most enchanting, serene and breathtaking locations that houses the highest altitude astronomical observatory in the world, The Indian Astronomical Observatory (IAO).
This observatory is run by the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, which is headquarted in Bengaluru. The reserve will include an area covering over 1000 square km centred at the IAO. To create awareness about the importance of the dark sky reserve, the Ladakh UT administration plans to promote astro-tourism, by incorporating several home-stays and installing telescopes in the villages across the reserve.
The dark skies are an excellent resource that can be utilised for astro-tourism as well as education, which will help in the socio-economic development of the region as a whole.
The film has been developed to highlight the importance of the Dark Sky Reserve and is made available in public domain under the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial Share Alike 4.0 International License.
