For most of people, Dark Skies are a thing of the past, something of old generation. Artificial lighting today has converted the sky into a large featureless canopy, with the occasional moon. Starscapes is organizing a week long event to celebrate dark skies with series of astronomy related events across the country at various observatories.
You can also take part in event at Starscapes observatories in kausani, Bhimtal along mobile observatories in Virajpet, Madikeri, Goa, Munnar and Pondicheery.
What is International Dark Sky Week?
International Dark Sky week is observed during the New Moon of April by IDA to promote awareness about dark skies. International Dark Sky association which is a non-profit group works with sole objective of preserving and promoting dark skies. It works with government and private organizations to designate and certify locations for Dark Sky places. The event get started in 2003 with an aim to rasie awareness about the night sky and the universe without any artificial light. During the event, astronomy enthusiasts globally commemorate with activities ranging from just switching off lights to witness the majestic firmament above, to holding stargazing sessions and astrophotography workshops to explore the skies further.
Highlights of the event are:
Messier Marathon- Identify fascinating objects, galaxies, star clusters in night sky with state-of the art telescopes
Location: Kausani, Bhimtal
Planetary parade- Watch a parade of planets and click a photo by yourself at the exciting event
Locations: Kausani, Bhimtal, all Club Mahindra Properties (Bhimtal, Madikeri, Virajpet, Pondicherry, Goa, Munnar
Astrophotography- learn to click night landscape photographs with best view of galaxies and nebuallas. (Only at Kausani)
Starscapes has been actively working towards promoting Astro tourism in India. Under the inititative, they have also partnered with Uttarakhand Tourism Board to develop Benital as India’s first Astro village. The Astro tourism is gaining attention by other sates too as Ladakh, Pondicherry, Kerala, Goa & Rajasthan.
Commenting in the week-long Dark sky celebration, Paul Savio, CEO and co-founder of Starscapes, said, “For most of us, Dark Skies are a thing of the past, something we used to enjoy as kids. Artificial lighting today has converted the sky into a large featureless canopy, with the occasional moon. While there's no denying the immense benefits of artificial lighting, we've traded away the starry sky, something that has fascinated living creatures across time. Is there a way to get it back? For this, we have created a series of events for astronomy enthusiasts to learn about the Universe. As there are many clear sky locations in India with low levels of light pollution making them brilliant to develop futuristic Dark Sky Locations.”
Get here the event details and location: https://starscapes.zone/event-dark-sky-week/
