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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Aakash Hassan in Hanle

‘The universe has opened up for us’: meet the astro-ambassadors who welcome stargazers to the Himalayas

The night sky above the Indian Astronomical Observatory in Hanle, a remote Himalayan village in Ladakh.
The night sky above the Indian Astronomical Observatory in Hanle, a remote Himalayan village in Ladakh, which has some of the darkest skies on Earth. Photograph: Dorje Angchuk

The snow-flecked peaks surrounding the village of Hanle are bathed in golden light as the sun sets. In the valley, 28-year-old Tsering Dolkar secures a telescope to its tripod and focuses the lens beneath a clear sky.

Zipped into warm jackets the visitors gather around Dolkar, gazing upwards as the sky darkens into a breathtaking tapestry of stars. She points toward a bright star in the western sky and announces: “That is Venus.” Someone says excitedly: “There’s the Milky Way!”

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