Photography contest to capture the magic of dark sky

Join the Nakshatra Sabha astro photography competition by Uttarakhand Tourism Board & Starscapes to capture the cosmos and win some exciting prizes.

In a joint initiative, the Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board and Starscapes, an astro tourism company, have announced the Nakshatra Sabha astro photography competition inviting astronomy enthusiasts, adventure lovers, travellers and shutterbugs to explore the majestic night sky and freeze some stunning frames of the cosmos.

The winners of the competition, which opened on October 20, will receive besides cash awards, an all-expenses paid trip to Nakshatra Sabhas, India’s first astro tourism campaign happening across Uttarakhand. The campaign, started in June, is a special one-year drive to educate people about dark sky preservation.

Participants can take the photos either on smartphone or DSLR camera and upload their entries on the website: https://www.starscapes.zone/astrocontest/. The last date for submission of entries is November 30.

Under the two categories, the first prize winners will receive ₹25,000 each; while the second and third prize money is ₹15,000 and ₹10,000 respectively. Each participant is allowed to submit up to five photos under each category. All entries must be original and unaltered and will be judged by a panel of astronomy experts and astro photographers

The winners would be taken to the Nakshatra sabha in any of the dark locations including Benital, Pithoragarh, Nainital, Chamoli, Uttarkashi, and Rudraprayag for a series of immersive events and interaction with experts and other fellow space geeks.

The winning photographs with another 10 best photos would also be showcased at the Dark Sky Symposium in Delhi and Kasauni. A spokesperson said, the purpose of the contest is to boost tourism in Uttarakhand and make it the first choice of star gazers and enrich education among students, scholars and researchers.

In recent times astro tourism has picked up with people visiting dark sky designated areas in Spiti Valley, Pin Parvati Valley, Chamba, Pachmarhi, Rann of Kutch, Jaisalmer, and Ladakh.