Granite Gap observatories commenced

As several of us have reported in Astronomy magazine, astronomy developer Gene Turner is creating the first low-cost dark-sky community for amateur astronomers in the country. Located near Animas in southwestern New Mexico, Granite Gap offers several hundred parcels of land for dark-sky observing or astroimaging, either on site or via robotic control. The cost is $2,500 for a 1/3-acre plot, 6 months out of the year, that can host an observatory, an RV when you are on site, or a park model cabin. Astronomy magazine and Celestron have their dark-sky observatories near the site, at Turner’s Rancho Hidalgo development.

The response to this unique arrangement has been nearly overwhelming to the folks at Granite Gap, with more than 500 queries thus far and about 150 folks who want to participate right off the bat. For more on this exciting and rapidly evolving opportunity, see www.granitegap.com. The project now has a Facebook page, too, at www.facebook.com/granitegap.

A vast amount of preparation work was necessary to get the site ready. Roads have gone in. Electricity has gone in. High-speed Internet will soon be in. A huge lake, the only one in the region, has slowly filled until it now appears beautiful, with shimmering, blue-green water. Now the foundation for the first observatory site at Granite Gap was poured, and more than a dozen others will soon commence. The project is in full swing.

Senior Editor Michael Bakich and I have observed under the skies there and have written about how they are among the darkest and most transparent we have ever seen. We look forward to many nights of observing out under the stars at Granite Gap, where Turner will begin holding a “Yearlong Star Party” as soon as these observatories are in. We look forward to seeing you, too, and spending time observing deep-sky objects with you under skies that, until recently, some of us had only dreamed about.

Be sure to check out the Online Reader Gallery for more pictures of Granite Gap.