This engineer from Ladakh brings the cosmos down to the Earth

Dorje Angchuk is the first and the only Indian Honorary Member of the International Astronomical Union

Angchuk Dorje. Credit: Special Arrangement

Dorje Angchuk was a part of the Hanle project at Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), Bengaluru since 1998 but he turned his camera to the sky a decade later after being star-struck by the pictures taken by a professional astro-photographer at India’s most pristine astronomical observatory.

Influenced by Ajay Talwar’s night photography, the Ladakh-based engineer turned his DSLR camera towards the mesmerising northern sky, a perfect place for photography because of the near-zero light pollution. The magic he created over the years finally made him the first and the only Indian Honorary Member of the International Astronomical Union (IAU).

A body of more than 1,300 scientists from all over the world, IAU has 82 Indian scientists as its members, but Angchuk is still a special case. Until now, there was no Indian present in the Honorary Members category, a category meant for those who are not professional astronomers or astrophysicists but still promote stargazing in a unique way.

“Angchuk’s brilliant photography impressed the Principal Scientific Advisor (K Vijayraghavan) so much that he even invited him to give a lecture at a scientific conference in Goa,” recalled IIA director S Annapurni. “Over the years, Angchuk guided many students to pursue astro-photography.”

His photographs of the telescopes at Hanle in the foreground against the Milky Way have become famous as they combine the majestic beauty of the dark skies with the enchanting landscape of Ladakh. His uniqueness is to situate the terrestrial landscape against the starry skies, thus bringing the cosmos down to earth. One of his famous photographs of Comet Neowise won the nationwide contest by the Astronomical Society of India.

Safeguarding dark skies

Ladakh is probably the only location in the country that still has access to dark skies. Dark skies have now been recognised as a part of humanity’s heritage, and many Dark Sky Sanctuaries have come up across the world to help preserve the night skies for future generations. Angchuk has been at the forefront of the campaign for safeguarding the pristine dark skies of Hanle and its surroundings in ways that are in symbiosis with local development, including the promotion of astro-tourism.

The IIA has recently submitted a proposal to the Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh and the Principal Scientific Advisor office to convert Hanle into a Dark Sky Sanctuary. The plan is to take the Hanle residents on board and convince them to modify their houses in such a way that the household lights are not let out to the sky.

“We will have to submit the detailed proposal on which we are working. Angchuk is closely involved with this programme. Astro-tourism can boost the homestays at Hanle while dark sky benefits the wildlife,” said Annapurni. Angchuk chose the IIA job over the Powergrid Corporation after graduating from National Institute of Technology Surat.

His job is to maintain the IIA telescope with a team of five engineers and a scientist. It is an eight-hour journey from Leh to Hanle. Angchuk and his team used to visit the site at least twice a month and stay there for a few days for the task.

“With the telescope stabilising, the requirement of such visits is less nowadays as the telescope can be operated remotely from Hoskote,” he told DH.

Early days

Sharing his thoughts on his Facebook page following the IAU recognition, Angchuk said he was among the few lucky kids who were invited to see Saturn through an 18-inch telescope setup in Leh in 1986.

“A few years later, one of my father’s friends brought me an astronomy guide book... During my final year at college, I witnessed the beautiful Comet Hale-Bopp,” Angchuk wrote on his Facebook page.

“Around 2009, I happened to meet Talwar and my world changed. The night world through a DSLR camera is so much more beautiful than the darkness our eyes can catch. Ajay forced me to buy my first camera and I remember buying my first camera on a loan from one of my colleagues,” he added.