Bhubaneswar: Recently launched, Stargazing initiative by the Debrigarh Wildlife Sanctuary (DWS) is creating buzz among Astrophiles and astronomy enthusiasts in and around the state. Community members at the DWS have been trained to identify stars and the constellations visible from the sanctuary, daily between 7 pm to 7:30 pm sessions for the Ecotourism visitors. “In some of the places like in Ladakh and Uttarakhand, stargazing for the public has already been started.
This is for the first time such elaborate and systematic stargazing has been started in the state at Debrigarh Wildlife sanctuary,” Anshu Pragyan Das, DFO Hirakud Wildlife Division said. The visibility list includes Sirius – the brightest star in sky, Dhruv Tara or North Star, ‘Saptarshi Mandal’ constellation which is placed above Hirakud Reservoir and ‘Ursa Major’ constellation are some of the clearly visible stars and constellations from DWS. These stars have been photographed and framed with marked directions for easy identification by visitors. “Since, most part of the sanctuary is covered with dense forest (around 353sqkm of DWS and 700sqkm of Hirakud Wetland) area without any human habitation, a big patch of the dark sky, away from city lights and free from light pollution helps for clear visibility and easy identification of stars and constellations,” Das added. “Few planets like Jupiter can also be directly seen from the Sanctuary. Milky Way can be seen here during summers but not during winters whereas Mars and Venus can be visible during winters.
Comets are seen round the year depending specific timeline. As horizon of sky is visible from Hirakud, sunset and moonrise offer some of the picturesque view,” Das said. Soft lights without any reflection towards sky have been put in the whole campus around Debrigarh Ecotourism for easy sighting of stars. We have made six new stargazing rooms, with glass roofs for viewing star movements at night in Debrigarh Nature Camp. Booking for same has started from May. Visitors have already started coming in and experiencing the new initiative. The photo frames displayed on the walls inside the rooms and at different places, have been photographed by a few astrophotographers from the state. We have also placed books related to stargazing in our library to generate curiosity among children and adults. A telescope is also placed for use by experts, said Das.
ARINDAM GANGULY, OP