Ben Preiss
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A growing number of amateur astronomers have added observatories to their homes for costs ranging from $50,000 up to $500,000. Some have even gone so far as to move far away from the city to minimize as much light pollution as possible to get the most crisp visuals through their telescopes. The real astro addict would even consider moving to specialized “astronomical” communities that have sprung up across North America.
 “As the baby boomers and wealthy tech types retire, they want challenging hobbies like astronomy, and have enough cash stashed away to afford to build their own observatories,” said Richard Olson, president of the Ash Manufacturing Company in Plainfield, Ill., which makes steel domes for observatories. His customers used to be limited to academic and research institutions, but within the last five years, he said, homeowners have begun making requests, to the point where 25 percent of his sales are to people like Steve Cullen, a 41-year-old retired senior vice president of the Symantec Corporation, who is building a home and observatory on 190 acres in Rodeo, N.M.
Mr. Cullen said he chose the location because it has “some of the darkest skies and clearest weather for space photography in the U.S.” (Most sophisticated telescopes now allow for the addition of digital cameras.) He expects the total cost of his observatory, which is still under construction, to be close to $340,000, including a $225,000 telescope, but his is a high-end project.
(nytimes)References: arizonaskyvillage, nytimes Filed In: |
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