It's been a pretty awful Spring in Essex Co., Ontario for observers. I have just watched the last of 4 clear nights in a row go by, the first such streak in 2015. The first night was the one before full moon. Next came a beautifully clear night of the full moon, followed by two more afterwards. Sigh. Not what any deep sky observer really wants to hear.
Which brings me to tonight's topic. Deb and I are getting close to moving elsewhere. In a few short years I will be shutting down my music teaching business and we will hopefully sell our present home. When we first moved here in about 1990, skies were pretty good. As subdivision after subdivision has been built, our skies are now impossible. What to do and where to go?
An astronomer's ideal situation is to live at a dark sky site and literally observe from the back deck. Growing up in Sudbury, my family's cottage on Lake Penage presented me with some of the finest observing I have ever undertaken. Most of it was with my Tasco Lunagrosso Reflector (4 1/2") and later with my trusty Edmund 8". The cottage had lovely skies when it was clear, but there were some limitations. The site was usable from May through October, but we were always bothered by bears (and skunks, mosquitoes, black flies, and all the other fun stuff that comes with camping in Northern Ontario). I didn't mind the cold nights. However, we were far enough north that the northern lights were frequently exhibiting at the nuisance level, and I would have to shut down deep sky observing.
I now find myself thinking hard about where to relocate. The American Southwest is uppermost in my mind at the moment, either southern New Mexico or Arizona. One option is to buy a home there in one of the dark sky enclaves that are springing up. Prices are quite reasonable. It might make more sense to time share such a place, though I don't know if that is an option. While a permanent Canadian site is not out of the question, it would preclude any worthwhile winter observing program due to extremely harsh winters. I have this fantasy of being able to observe Orion consistently, wearing only a light jacket.
Many serious amateurs probably do what Deb and I do, which is load up the equipment and drive pretty far out of the city to carry out our observing program. While this works well in theory, in practice we have driven many times after being promised great skies, only to find out that incoming clouds had other ideas. Once, after driving out and setting up on the promise that it would soon clear, it actually rained! We had to scramble to get our scopes back into the vehicle, and it never cleared all night. Observing from home not only saves the driving, but if it is cloudy, well, there are a dozen other things I can do instead.
While I have not come to any firm conclusions, I am leaning towards some type of time sharing. Finding someone who wishes to share a home in the desert, and taking turns using it on previously agreed months, would be ideal for us. This allows us to continue to have a home somewhere in Canada, but also a safe and dark place from which to observe for a month or two at a time, when it is our turn. I will continue to air my thoughts on this subject from time to time. Please feel free to comment.
Mapman Mike
