Astro Gated Community - would you?

[sn1987a (Barry)]

Originally Posted by mithrandir

It's actually Windeyer, and is about 4 hours drive from northwest Sydney. Think I'd rather the 5 hours drive to the in-laws property at Willow Tree.

Yeah its windy here too at the moment.

[N1 (Mirko)]

Originally Posted by omegacrux

Ahh neighbors .
Can I borrow your 24in dob
No you still haven't returned the Tak

David

ppfffhahaha

But in all seriousness. A gated astro community is something none of the "outsiders" will ever take seriously. Bit like a nudist camp. Awareness of the night sky, importance of reducing light pollution etc etc needs to be embedded in the community. The best approach IMHO is that of the late John Dobson. Agents can be astro clubs, outreach workers, cool scientists, you, me, ....

[Wavytone]

There's a misconception underlying all this is - that you need to OWN the place, and the equipment. Stupidly expensive, IMHO.


It makes a lot more sense to go use someone else's when you want to, even for a modest fee - when there are setups like this available http://www.loweobservatory.com about 4-5 hours from Sydney.

Then live wherever you please 99% of the time.

[Paul Haese]

Already have a property in a community with a dark sky policy. 43 street lights and only 5 work. Very low light pollution and only a few astronomers there. No gates to keep people in or out. 1 hours drive from little old Adelaide. Good luck with it guys.

[Eden (Brett)]

Nevada Test Site or somewhere in North Korea might be able to provide the right setting for this? ;-)

Seriously though, as diehard as I am about astronomy -- the term "gated community" kinda leaves me with visuals of some sort of cult where outsiders are frowned upon, possibly even mobbed or worse!

Remember, it's not the size of the telescope but how many people get to have a look through it that counts :-)