Moon Based Observatories for Amateur Use

[glend (Glen)]

So I was thinking that with the 'return to the Moon' program starting up, why don't we lobby for the establishment of lunar based observatories which can be used by amateur, and professional astronomers?
I am sure Elon Musk will be happy to haul the gear up there ($$$).
Great way to get above the Swarm of low Earth orbit satellites and Starlink, etc. Relatively low latency on comms to your gear, but don't expect your Teamviewer wifi to work. Heck, Musk could sell you a support package made up of Starlink access to the site.
If you can operate a dark site Observatory in Australia, you could do the same on the Moon.
Not sure how mount software would have to change, as your mount would now be orbiting the Earth. Pier building might also be a bit more complicated. Seeing would be fantastic, as long as your aimed away from Earth.
I wonder how many of us would miss the tinkering, that having access to the equipment provides. Would you be happy with screen based observation? Imagers would likely adapt as long as they can get their files to work on. Discussion?

[ChrisV (Chris)]

Wouldn't need a super mount. My 8" newt would only weight 1.6kg!

[billdan (Bill)]

China deployed a 150mm Ritchey Chretien Telescope in 2013 with a nuclear isotope power supply designed to last 30 years.

The telescope sees in ultraviolet light, making it particularly suited for observations that aren’t possible here on Earth. “There is no atmosphere on the moon, so unlike Earth, the ultraviolet light from celestial objects can be detected on the moon,” says Jing Wang of the National Astronomical Observatories in Beijing, China, who is in charge of the telescope.

And since the moon rotates 27 times more slowly than the Earth, the scope can stay fixed on the same star for a dozen days without interruption, he says.


Last year China installed a radio telescope on the dark side of the moon.

https://www.sciencealert.com/there-s...de-of-the-moon

So it can be done, as to whether someone will be benevolent to provide a telescope for public access remains to be seen.

[JeniSkunk (Jenifur)]

Another complication with such an idea is how to sort out who has access when and for how long.
For the serious astrophotographers, such a setup would be brilliant.
But I wonder how useful would such a system be for for a lowly beginner like myself who just works with visual in suburban light pollution?

[blindman]

Observatories are already on the moon