Deep Sky Chile Remote Telescope Hosting

Astrograph are the UK Exclusive partners for Deep Sky Chile Remote Telescope Hosting.

Chilean skies are synonymous with the ultimate dark skies and a favourite location for the worlds largest telescopes. Perhaps the most famous of these being the ESO (European Southern Observatory) in the Atacama Desert. Until recently, Chile has not been a practical consideration for offering remote hosting. The logistics involved in providing a stable power source with high speed internet in very remote areas were only something large professional installations could justify. No longer.

From January 2019, Deep Sky Chile will become operational allowing amatuer astronomers the opportunity to benefit from the same incredible seeing quality the professionals do.

Deep Sky Chile is located in the Rio Hurtado Valley and is actually believed to be the best Astronomy site in Chile by the DSC team, better even than the Atacama! This view seems to be shared by others as the professional Cerro Tololo and Gemini South Observatories are based nearby.

So what is the sky quality like at Deep Sky Chile?

Clear Nights - Well firstly the typical number of clear nights per year is an incredible 320. The area has one of the highest ratings for clear nights in Chile and for that matter, the world.

Seeing - The FWHM Median Value is under 1 arc second. The average seeing is 0.5 arc second in Summer, 'increasing' to only 0.6 arc seconds in Winter. The best seeing recorded at the site so far is only 0.37 arc seconds!

Altitude - Located at 1700m (5590ft), the observatories sit above the inversion layer, meaning pollution, turbulant cooler air etc is below, yet they are not so high as to make access difficult.

Darkness - The typical SQM measured at the site is 21.85. Very dark by any standards.

The combination of darkness and fantastic seeing allow the smallest of details to be resolved and maximum contrast to be achieved whether the need be for traditional astrophography or scientific purposes.

The Deep Sky Chile site will go live by the end of January 2019 with initial capacity for 22 telescopes. This is provided via a pair of communal roll off roof type observatories. As the site expands private observatories will also be offered.

Despite the remote location, should a telescope need maintenance, support can be obtained within 4 hours. The infrastructure of the site provides a 100Mbs internet connection with low latency. In the event of failure there is a 40Mbs 4G Backup. Network connectivity should be just like home, except faster and more reliable!

In terms of installation, on site install is offered at extra cost, Naturally Astrograph can also provide installations services as we do at the e-Eye facility in Spain. Costs for installation would be quoted for and are dependent on the nature and size of the system. Shipping and freight forwarding services are already organised to make transporting your equipment to the other side of the world as painless as possible.

Costs. Currently two packages are available from DSC, These are for a place in either a shared observatory with a single roof or with your own personal observatory.

Shared hosting - 535€ per month (approx £475 per month) - no VAT/tax is payable on this

Observatory is opened and closed by DSC

Shared Internet Access is Provided

Maximum Telescope Size is 24"

220V PSU

Telemetry Services

Webcam Monitoring

Private Hosting - POA - no VAT/ tax is payable on this

Observatory is mamnaged by you

Dedicated Internet Access

Maximum Telescope Size is unlimited

220V PSU

Telemetry Services

Webcam Monitoring

If you would like to know more about Deep Sky Chile, please contact us.