Remote Observatory

[DarkArts]

Thanks, Jonathan, BPO. Good advice.

[DarkArts]

I should emphasise that building a remote obsy is at least a couple of years away.

I've been frustrated while looking for a house with a dark and unobstructed yard - no such beast that I can find unless I want to pay a $50-100K premium, based on what I've seen so far, and still be within comfortable commuting distance to work. The idea occurred to me that I could buy a place closer to work with smaller, brighter yard (just enough for planetary AP and some casual visual), put some of the $50K+ into a remote obsy and save a ton in the process. Hence wanting to know the costs and potential problems, as feasibility could/would affect my choice of house.

The advice in this thread has been great so far, and I hope it also serves as a resource for others thinking along the same lines.

[BPO]

Originally Posted by DarkArts

The idea occurred to me that I could buy a place closer to work with smaller, brighter yard (just enough for planetary AP and some casual visual), put some of the $50K+ into a remote obsy and save a ton in the process. Hence wanting to know the costs and potential problems, as feasibility could/would affect my choice of house.

If the new site has AC mains and a telephone line the job will be almost simple. You can instead focus on installing the best astro gear without having to worry too much about power and comms. It's when you're on a truly remote remote site that those things become a significant issue and sometimes pushing the project over into "not worth the effort" territory.