News Excerpt:
South East Asia's first Night Sky Sanctuary - The Dark Sky Reserve will be a part of Changthang Wildlife Sanctuary.
About Night Sky Sanctuary - The Dark Sky Reserve:
- It is dedicated to maintaining the night sky's darkness, allowing people to see celestial objects more clearly, making it an ideal spot for stargazing enthusiasts.
- It allows visitors to enjoy the beauty of the night sky without interference from city lights.
- It will boost astro-tourism in India and be one of the world’s highest-located sites for optical, infrared and gamma-ray telescopes.
- A tripartite MoU was signed among the UT Administration, Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) Leh, and the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), Bengaluru.
- Location:
- It will be located at Hanle village in eastern Ladakh as a part of Changthang Wildlife Sanctuary and adjacent to the Indian Astronomical Observatory, the second-highest optical telescope in the world, of the Indian Institute of Astrophysics at Hanle at an elevation of 4500 metres.
Changthang Wildlife Sanctuary:
- It has diverse flora and fauna spread over 1,600 sq km and is located in the Ladakhi Changthang Plateau in Leh, Ladakh.
- It boasts of the highest lake on earth, Tso Moriri.
- It also includes one of the world's highest villages, Korzok Village, which draws tourists to the Korzok Monastery.
- Wildlife species one can find are the Snow leopard, Kiang or Wild Ass, Dark-necked crane, Tibetan wolf, Wild yak, Bharal, Brown bear and the Marmot.
