India’s first-ever night sky sanctuary in Ladakh

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

According to sources, the work on India’s first-ever night sky sanctuary in Ladakh will be completed in a month.

About the Sanctuary:

• It is being set up by Council of Scientific and Industrial Research under Union Ministry of Science & Technology.
• The proposed Dark Sky Reserve will be located at Hanle in Ladakh as a part of Changthang Wildlife Sanctuary.
• The Changthang Wildlife Sanctuary is a high altitude wildlife sanctuary located in the Ladakh adjunct of the Changthang plateau.
• Hanle is located in Ladakh’s cold desert region, away from any form of human disturbance with clear sky conditions and dry weather conditions that exist throughout the year.
• In a first-of-its-kind initiative, the Department of Science & Technology (DST).
• Hanle, which is about 4,500 metres above sea level, hosts telescopes and is regarded as one of the world’s most optimal sites for astronomical observations. 
• However, ensuring that the site remains well-suited for astronomy implies keeping the night sky pristine, or ensuring minimal interference to the telescopes from artificial light sources such as electric lights and vehicular lights from the ground.
• A dark sky reserve is a designation given to a place that has policies in place to ensure that a tract of land or region has minimal artificial light interference. 

Significance

• Promotion astro-tourism, villages around Hanle would be encouraged to promote homestays equipped with telescopes that visitors can use to view the night sky.
• Villagers would also be trained to help visitors with astronomical observations.

Ideal Conditions

• The Indian Astronomical Observatory, the high-altitude station of the IIA, is situated to the north of Western Himalayas, at an altitude of 4,500 metres above mean sea level. 
• Located atop Mt. Saraswati in the Nilamkhul Plain in the Hanle Valley of Changthang, it is a dry, cold desert with sparse human population.
• The cloudless skies and low atmospheric water vapour make it one of the best sites in the world for optical, infrared, sub-millimetre, and millimetre wavelengths.