Context: India`s first-ever "Night Sky Sanctuary" to be set up in Ladakh as a part of Changthang Wildlife Sanctuary and the proposed Dark Sky Reserve will be completed at Hanle in Ladakh within 3 months that will boost Astro tourism in India and will be one of the world`s highest-located sites for optical, infra-red, and gamma-ray telescopes.

About

• It is a unique and first-of-its-kind initiative

• The country’s first-ever “Night Sky Sanctuary” will be set up by the Department of Science & Technology (DST), Govt of India. 

• It will be established in Changthang Wildlife Sanctuary, Hanle, Ladakh within the next three months.

• For establishing the Dark Space Reserve, a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding(MoU) was signed between the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) Leh, and the UT administration.

• It will have activities that will boost local tourism and the overall economy of the region.

• It is observed that Hanle is best-suited location for the project because it is situated in the cold desert region of Ladakh, away from any sort of human disturbance. The region also has dry weather and clear sky conditions throughout the year.

• The stakeholders should work in cooperation to ensure that the night sky is preserved from unwanted illumination and light pollution as it poses a serious threat to scientific observations as well as natural sky conditions.

• It will promote Astro- tourism.

Changthang, Ladakh

• It is a high-altitude sanctuary which is located in the Changthang plateau in the Leh District, Ladakh.

• It is important because of the population of the Tibetan Wild Ass or Kiang, and the rare Black-necked Crane. 

• The Wildlife Sanctuary is spread over an area of 4000 sq Km.

• It has more than 4 lakh animals majorly pashmina goats, besides Yak and Sheep.