Remote Astronomy doesn’t come easy. The term is used with little consideration by many for the investment behind it.
Let’s put it this way, it’s hard. To be able to do it well is very hard and the darker you want your sight, the harder it gets. The inverse rule applies in a very simple way. The Darker the sight, the fewer resources there are to make it useful. When is the last time you were bowled over by the Milky Way after just stepping out of a well-equipped accessible remote observatory?
When you commit that you will pursue your best searching, researching, data collecting, and data perfecting, then you’re done with the back yard.
There are some tough choices ahead. Weigh the utility in finding, purchasing, developing, securing, and maintaining a remote site versus searching, researching, data collecting, and data perfecting. What good is one without the other? Which aspect do you want to pursue? If it’s both, I commend you. There is a lot of work to do. If it’s the latter, you could be close. Let’s face it, the reason
I own a remote observatory.
It is very remote.
With friends and family, we had to cut a road, clear a site, get a 4×4. Get a second 4×4.
It is very dark. Bortle1.
We had to run electric and internet and water, and septic.
The seeing is outstanding.
I had to shuttle people and materials, hardware, and ideas to the sight 5 hours driving each way.
Build, test, rework and build. It is remote. We now have 7 piers in 4 observatories. We started in 2010 and we’ll stop when we have 10 piers. Why 10? Because after all this travel, work, and knee replacement, it’s time for me to enjoy! What do I enjoy? Every aspect of this science, hobby, interest, art.
With a maximum of 10 piers, my staff and I can continue to provide outstanding service to our clients, shoot for our own astronomical goals and pay a few bills. I built this observatory for the joy of it, not to make piles of money and travel to the EU. My travel occurs here.
Our pods are well built and good looking and we pay attention to them.
We keep them clean and our client’s equipment clean. We keep them dry and fully functional. The pods are even comfortable just to sit in while imaging onsite. We do not store yard equipment in them. They are portals for us and, as such, we treat them and the instruments in them with respect.
We love what we do, and we like to think it shows. Call us soon to discuss pier availability and prices. You’ll probably be surprised. And don’t forget to read our testimonials. We can even connect you with these guys if you want to compare notes.