Remote Imaging with Chilescope
WHAT AMATEUR ASTRONOMER hasn’t fantasised about operating a large telescope in an extremely dark location that regularly experiences good seeing conditions? While many of us may have had glimpses through large instruments at star parties or at observatory public nights, being able to image through one has been mostly a dream… until now.
Operating telescopes remotely isn’t new. There are several telescope-hosting facilities at sites in Australia, Africa, North America and South America, where individuals with the means can lease a spot at a ‘telescope farm’ for their equipment and image remotely. Some facilities also have scopes that users can rent to take dazzling deep sky photos or perform extended research. But one type of astrophotography has remained impractical for imagers, until now: planetary imaging.
Chilescope
A group of intrepid Russian astronomers has taken the idea of remote imaging a big leap forward by providing everything needed to shoot deep sky objects and the planets with world-class instruments from the often-steady skies in South America. Chilescope was founded by partners Ivan Rubtzov and Sergey Pogrebissky, with the support of astronomer Yuri Beletsky of the Carnegie Institution for Science. The remote observatory is located in the Chilean Andes
