Country's first dark sky reserve to be set up in Ladakh's Hanle
A part of Changthang Wildlife Sanctuary in Hanle, Ladakh is set to become India's first dark sky reserve. It will be declared as Hanle Dark Sky Reserve (HDSR). The site will promote astronomy tourism while promoting local tourism through science.
▪️ Reasons for choosing this site
Ladakh has immense potential for uninterrupted astronomical observations. It has optical, gamma-ray and infrared telescopes for space exploration. It has a dry season for most of the months of the year. The dark skies here at night make it a perfect natural setup to look up to the sky.
▪️ Dark Sky Reserve (DSR)
It is a protected area committed to the protection of the night by reducing or eliminating light pollution in all its forms.
The 'Dark Sky sanctuary' has a natural arrangement of lighting according to the need without expending energy and polluting other areas. It is naturally dark at night here and there is natural light of the stars.
The objective of DSR is to protect the night sky from the spread of light pollution by using night sky friendly lighting. The lighting protocol for the dark-sky reserve is based on the sensitivity of wildlife to artificial light at night.
This helps preserve the nocturnal environment for plants, animals and humans as same. Let us tell you that the International Dark- Sky Association (IDA) certifies dark sky locations.