[AJames]

Sorry to revamp this tread again, but anyone interested in forming a National Amateur Observatory might like to use this information to work towards such a future potential.

I have just read an interesting article entitled "The Centarion 18 telescope of the Wide Observatory", which appears at the Arxiv Site, which has been submitted for publication in the Astrophysics and Space Science in February 2008. (See pdf file; http://arxiv.org/pdf/0802.0821 )
This observatory, produces observations that are made in the most cases, remotely. As said in the introduction, the purpose was to ;

"The operation of the C18 is now automatic, requiring only start-up at the beginning of a night and close-down at dawn. The observations are mostly performed remotely from the TelAviv campus or even from the observer’s home. The entire facility was erected for a component cost of about 70k$ and a labour investment of a total of one man-year.
We describe three types of projects undertaken with this new facility: the measurement of asteroid light variability with the purpose of determining physical parameters and binarity, the following up of transiting extrasolar planets, and the study of AGN variability. The successful implementation of the C18 demonstrates the viability of small telescopes in an age of huge light-collectors, provided the operation of such facilities is very efficient."

This is a good read for anyone seriously considering such an endeavours - privately or through your local astronomical society.

There are several information sites presented through this document. Oe of interest, which shows the potential of remote observatories appears at
ACP Observatory Control Software; (Ie. http://acp.dc3.com/index2.html )
There are some videos showing how such systems work at this site;
http://forums.dc3.com/videos/videos.html
An slightly more detail example of astronomical imaging can be downloaded at; http://forums.dc3.com/videos/ACP/Sim...implePlan.html
(There are other examples of such software, but my selection here is merely for illustration. It should not be construed by me as any kind of endorsement - as every thing else here.)

All this proves is a National Astronomical Observatory is indeed possible. The problem is the paradigms adopted by the astronomical societies in this country. I make no apology, especially the Top 4 Societies in this country, who have the sufficient resources to enable such a dream to be fulfilled. However, without the will to accept such adoptions, there is little chance of such endeavours being available for amateurs in this country. I know (personally), there is much resistance to such changes - which IMO is very detrimental to amateur astronomy because it does not allow the real potential of its members and the science (or education) to contribute proudly or meaningfully to Australian astronomy.

If you are a member of an Astronomical Society, perhaps now is the time to challenge the Committees to begin recommending investigation to fulfilling such potential options and show some leadership.

The present state of Navel searching here is no a good enough reason anymore for the complete lack of action.

Regards,
Andrew

COMMENT: Cloud and Weather Sensors One of the earlier points that I made in this thread was observational surveillance of observing sites. There is available, a commercial sky sensor, which is ideal for night use. (Presently not supported by the BOM) One of these is The Boltwood Cloud Sensor II, (http://www.cyanogen.com/products/cloud_main.htm), which is about $AU2000. This would be a worthwhile investment for the individual observations site by solitary amateurs or Societies. Such a device could be useful for site testing, and could be used as a sensor for a remote observatory. A review of such a system is at;
http://www.cloudynights.com/item.php?item_id=1261

Disclaimer: The examples here is merely for illustration. It should not be construed by me as any kind of endorsement - as everything else here.