Bengaluru, April 19 : Starscapes, which is one of India’s leading astro tourism companies, will be hosting a series of astronomy-related activities as part of the ‘International Dark Sky Week’ which will be held from April 22 to April 30. International Dark Sky Week is celebrated across the world during the New Moon week in April, which this year will occur from April 22- April 30. The event, which was first observed in 2003, aims to raise awareness regarding the night sky and the ecosystem that flourishes in the dark and for which artificial light is an impediment. In a bid to boost astro-tourism, Starscapes has been actively working towards promoting Dark Sky Locations in India. Recently, the company partnered with the Uttarakhand Tourism Board to develop Benital as India’s first astro village. Astro tourism related projects are slowly becoming a priority for many other state governments as well. Just a few months ago, Hanle, a historic village and home to the world’s tallest astronomical observatory, was designated as a Dark Sky Sanctuary by the on Territory administration of Ladakh. Commenting on the International Dark Sky Week celebrations, Paul Savio, CEO and Co-Founder, Starscapes, said “International Dark Sky week celebrates the magic of the nocturnal world and the importance of preserving and protecting our night sky from light pollution. To bring more awareness to this cause, Starscapes has curated a series of fun events for astronomy enthusiasts to learn all about the verse.” “A number of locations in India have low levels of light pollution and provide an undisturbed view of the night sky, making them ideal for a Dark Sky Park. At Starscapes, we aim to assist in opening many more Dark Sky locations across the country in a bid to promote Astro tourism.” he added. Starscapes observatories would be hosting a variety of activities for International Dark Sky Week celebrations, these include: The Messier Marathon : Starscapes’ state-of-the-art telescopes gives astro enthusiasts an opport ty to observe some of the galaxies, nebulas and star clusters that Charles Messier catalogued. The marathon would be conducted at Starscapes’ observatory in Kausani and Bhimtal. Planetary Parade One can witness the planets as they line up in the eastern sky heralding the rising of the Sun, early in the morning. Marvel at once at the phases of Venus, the clouds, the satellites of Jupiter, and the rings of Saturn.! Starscapes observatories in Kausani and Bhimtal, and mobile observatories in Madikeri, Virajpet, Pondicherry, Goa, Munnar would all conduct the parade. Astrophotography with Shikhar Gupta Astrophotographer Shikhar Gupta will impart knowledge about landscape photography, the use of telescopes and mounts to capture images of deep sky objects; and about how to process them to get the desired output. This would be held at Kausani observotary. RKM SHK1931