D e s e r t E x p o s u r e
June
2009
SIDEBARSharing New Mexico's Skies
"Blessed is the land that can sell its mud," wrote John McPhee about Wyoming. New Mexico's entrepreneurs find ways to sell its dark.
When Steve Cullen built his dream observatory in Rodeo, New Mexico, the New York Times took note. A year later, he opened it to the world via the Internet. Lightbuckets.com, provides amateur astronomers anywhere access to world-class telescopes under New Mexico's pristine skies. $50 - $100 per hour might sound expensive, but compared to relocating, assuming a new mortgage, and pursuading your life partner that buying a telescope is a good use for the IRA, that's a bargain.
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Globular star cluster Messier 3 photographed from rainy, light-struck North Carolina using a 24-inch telescope in Rodeo, New Mexico. (Photo by David Cortner via Lightbuckets) |
When Phil Mahon opened the Star Hill Inn near Las Vegas, New Mexico, in 1988, it was the first resort in North America built specifically to serve stargazing visitors. The Star Hill Inn closed in 2007 but not before pioneering a niche in the travel industry. The Casitas de Gila B&B operated by Michael and Becky O'Connor just northwest of Silver City caters to the same market.
For years as college administrators, Mike and Lynn Rice searched far and wide for the ideal combination of easy access to dark, long and cloud-free nights. They found it between Cloudcroft and Mayhill, New Mexico. The Rices opened New Mexico Skies as a stargazing B&B. In the years since, they've redefined remote observing. Now, in addition to hosting stargazers, they host and manage telescopes for amateur astronomers who may never set foot in New Mexico. If anyone, anywhere, thinks about running a telescope by remote control, some of the expertise is imported from New Mexico Skies.
2RMS GALAXY VU: sometimes visiting — whether
in person or via the net — just isn't enough.
Silver City realtors tout properties with "dark
skies" the
way realtors elsewhere advertise "beachfront" or "mountain
view." Top
of the World in Catron County is just one development pitching
dark acreage to amateur astronomers. As is the case with many New Mexico subdivisions,
the covenants at Quemado
Lake Estates include strict (and welcome)
restrictions on outdoor lighting.
The genesis of the National Park Service's night skies initiative can be found at New Mexico's Chaco Culture National Historic Park. The New Mexico Preservation Alliance includes an office devoted to preserving the night sky.
The next time you step outside and see the Milky Way blazing from horizon to horizon, understand that that's not just a hundred billion stars up there. That's a valuable resource.
— David Cortner