You Can Now Go For Stargazing In Rajasthan; It's The 1st Indian State To Launch Astro-Tourism
One of the prime features of the product is that it will be managed by calendars of the sky and sky will play the main guide to fix the dates for such events.
Good news for sky watchers! Rajasthan in India has become the first state to launch the night sky astro tourism in all its 33 districts! Located in the state¡¯s capital, Jaipur itself has four popular venues for stargazing: Jantar Mantar, Amber Fort, University of Maharaja and Jawahar Kala Kendra.
State Department of Art and Culture introduced a ¡®Night Sky Tourism Project¡¯. This was done to introduce sky-gazing among the tourists and encourage them for the same.
How was this idea born?
Mugdha Sinha, Rajasthan's Department of Science and Technology Secretary said that because of COVID-19, ¡°there was a strict lockdown, people were locked inside their houses and a number of interesting astronomical events were taking place in the sky.¡±
The Rajasthan government organised a ¡®star gazing¡¯ session in 2021 to help people who wished to be outdoors after a long hiatus forced by COVID-19 lockdown. Residents got super excited for the event and this led to the conception of the approval of night sky astro tourism across Rajasthan.
Its inception
Soon, a lot of recommendations walked in and the idea was adopted by Rajasthan¡¯s chief minister Ashok Ghelot. The dates will be decided depending upon the calendars of the sky. The state also plans to launch astrophotography workshops in the future.
On March 3, the CM announced the introduction of Night Sky Astro Tourism in all 33 districts of the state.
astro-tourism
Mugdha further added, "Now, we shall get telescopes for all districts and for Delhi's Bikaner House too.¡±
One of the prime features of the product is that it will be managed by calendars of the sky and sky will play the main guide to fix the dates for such events.
Dark Sky Reserve at Ladakh
In wake of this augmenting tourism streak, a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was recently signed between Indian Institute of Astrophysics, the Ladakh administration and Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council to form India¡¯s first ever Dark Sky Reserve at Hanle in Ladakh.
Dark sky reserves are areas which are particularly preserved, maintained for their astronomical value. Organisations look for the darkest skies with best starry nets and endeavour to preserve them from light pollution.
CEC @tashi_gyalson also attended the event of the signing of the tripartite MoU for the setting up of the first Dark Sky Reserve of the country at Hanley.
¡ª LAHDC LEH (@LAHDC_LEH) June 17, 2022
It was signed between the UT administration, LAHDC Leh and the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA). pic.twitter.com/00kr9j8Knc
Light pollution refers to the brightening of the sky due to artificial, obstructive lights which are more than often manmade, and not only have harmful effects on natural ways but also inhibit astronomical observations.
Scientists claim it to be menacing hindrances to the environment. Unpolluted night sky makes it possible to see stars in the milky way too.
For more on news and current affairs from around the world please visit Indiatimes News.
Senior Writer at Indiatimes. She writes on Lifestyle, fashion, beauty, astrology and health.
