In the quiet heart of Central Texas, far from city lights, something extraordinary happens as dusk falls. What appears by day to be a collection of unassuming sheds, nestled in a landscape where cows once roamed, transforms into a bustling hub of cosmic exploration. As the sun dips below the horizon, the roofs of these eleven identical buildings slide open with a soft groan, revealing an impressive array of hundreds of telescopes.
These aren’t your typical backyard scopes. They are a silent, robotic army, meticulously tracking and capturing the wonders of the night sky, their human operators often miles, even continents, away. This is Starfront Observatories, a groundbreaking facility redefining amateur astronomy for the digital age. Thanks to high-speed internet and advanced digital cameras, gazing at the stars no longer requires braving the elements; it’s now a sophisticated, remote-controlled passion.
Today’s advanced telescopes offer much more than just a magnified view of the night sky. For many enthusiasts, the true thrill lies in astrophotography – the art of taking exquisite, long-exposure photographs of celestial objects too faint to be perceived by the naked eye.
“It’s the most efficient way for astronomy to be done,” explains Dustin Gibson, one of the visionary founders behind Starfront Observatories.
The romantic image of an astronomer venturing to a remote mountaintop to gaze through a telescope has been evolving for decades. Nowadays, many professional astronomers conduct their observations remotely from their offices, sometimes across the globe. They arrive at work the following morning to find new images and data waiting on their computers.
This cutting-edge trend has now reached amateur astronomers. Remote observatories are emerging in various locations like Utah, New Mexico, and Chile. However, these facilities primarily serve dedicated hobbyists who invest in expensive, high-end equipment to capture the clearest, darkest skies.
From left: Josh Kim, Bray Falls and Dustin Gibson, three of Starfront Observatories’ four co-founders, who met in the worlds of start-ups and astrophotography. (Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The New York Times)
Dustin Gibson and his three co-founders – Bray Falls, Nathan Hanks, and Josh Kim – envisioned a more accessible platform. Since its launch a little over a year ago, Starfront has rapidly expanded to house over 550 telescopes, making it the largest facility of its kind globally, according to the company.
The observatory hosts a diverse range of instruments, from compact telescopes resembling security cameras to a massive, two-foot-wide mirror owned by Mr. Gibson himself.
“Our mission is to make space exploration, and space in general, more accessible to everyone,” states Mr. Kim.
The founders envision a future where schools and universities can establish or rent telescope time at Starfront, allowing students to directly engage with the cosmos.
“It becomes places in their mind, instead of just things in a textbook,” Mr. Gibson adds, highlighting the educational potential.
For centuries, the heavens have captivated passionate amateur sky-gazers, who have often been the first to discover new comets, exploding stars, and other remarkable cosmological events.
Telescopes pointing up toward the glow of the Milky Way, illustrating the beauty of astrophotography. “Our mission is to make space exploration, and space in general, more accessible to everyone,” Mr. Kim said. (Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The New York Times)
However, pursuing astronomy can be an expensive and challenging endeavor. A quality telescope can cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars. Moreover, most people reside in urban or suburban areas where light pollution obscures the night sky. Clouds are another common obstacle, and observing in colder climates during winter can be particularly uncomfortable.
“It’s very challenging if your experience has to be dependent on taking the system out somewhere and waiting for clear skies and hoping for your best,” Mr. Gibson acknowledges.
Consequently, many beginners quickly become discouraged, and their telescopes end up gathering dust in a closet.
The founders of Starfront offer a superior alternative: simply ship your telescope, digital camera, and computer to their Texas facility. There, a skilled technician will install your equipment onto a sturdy steel mount within one of their specialized sheds.
It’s akin to renting a dedicated parking spot for your telescope, but with the added benefit of a high-speed data connection. The service starts at an affordable $99 per month for the smallest telescopes.
The telescopes at Starfront can tirelessly track the same section of the sky over numerous nights. During this extended observation period, digital camera sensors accumulate enough photons to render otherwise invisible objects discernible. Amateur astronomers often use telescopes with a broad field of view, enabling them to discover phenomena that might be overlooked by giant professional observatories, which typically focus on a very narrow sliver of the night sky.
An overhead view of the Starfront Observatories site in Rockwood, Texas. Texas wasn’t an obvious location for a remote telescope farm, but the Rockwood area offered crucial internet access and other attractive features. (Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The New York Times)
“This is a nebula I discovered in Virgo,” Mr. Falls proudly shares, pointing to a vibrant image of a supernova remnant in the constellation Virgo, an object comparable in size to the moon.
Mr. Falls, an accomplished astrophotographer, notes that capturing this particular image required approximately 180 hours of cumulative exposure time.
“Most of the stuff I look at is bigger than the moon in this sky, but it’s just so faint that people don’t really photograph them at all,” Mr. Falls explains, highlighting the unique targets of amateur astrophotography.
The four founders of Starfront initially connected through various previous business ventures and a shared passion for astronomy. Mr. Gibson, Mr. Hanks, and Mr. Kim all collaborated at OurSky, a startup specializing in software development platforms for space data applications. Mr. Falls and Mr. Gibson’s connection dates back years, stemming from their involvement in the astrophotography community.
A couple of years ago, they began scouting for an ideal location, which had several non-negotiable requirements.
Crucially, the site needed to be dark – a Class 1 on the Bortle scale, the darkest possible classification for observing the cosmos. (For reference, New York City’s Times Square is a glaring 9, making it highly unsuitable for stargazing.)
Consistent clear nights were another essential factor for optimal observation.
Texas wasn’t the most apparent choice; deserts or mountaintops in places like New Mexico or California typically offer darker and clearer skies. However, a 15-acre plot adjacent to a dirt road near the tiny community of Rockwood presented other significant advantages, notably fiber-optic cables that provided exceptionally fast and reliable internet access.
A close-up view inside a large 24-inch telescope at Starfront. The observatories house a variety of instruments, from small, security camera-like devices to Mr. Gibson’s formidable two-foot-wide mirror. (Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The New York Times)
Furthermore, Rockwood isn’t entirely isolated, with Austin and Fort Worth just a three-hour drive away.
The land was acquired in April of last year. However, as construction commenced on the initial sheds designed to house the telescopes, a sudden, record-breaking torrential downpour cast a shadow of doubt over the Rockwood location.
“They had what they said was the worst rain in like 20 years, the day we arrived,” Mr. Gibson recounts. “It was a nightmare scenario. And all the water created bug issues.”
Eventually, the rain ceased, the floodwaters receded, and the first two sheds were successfully constructed.
Mr. Falls then posted engaging videos on YouTube, explaining the innovative concept behind Starfront. This quickly garnered attention from individuals like Jonathan Semeyn, a Kansas City resident. “The conditions that I have for astrophotography are not great,” he lamented. “I have a really small backyard with a limited view of the sky.”
Josh Kim, one of Starfront’s co-founders, navigating the observatory grounds. The Starfront founders are actively planning to expand their operations, aiming to host even more telescopes in Texas and explore the possibility of a new site in the Southern Hemisphere. (Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The New York Times)
Mr. Semeyn enthusiastically shares that he logs into his telescope nightly whenever the Texas skies are clear. In the latter half of last year alone, he accumulated over 800 hours of imaging time with his Starfront telescope. In stark contrast, his home telescope yielded only about 100 hours of observation time so far this year. “It’s no comparison,” he emphasizes.
Starfront has actively collaborated with its customers to optimize telescopes for remote operation. Carlos Garcia, for instance, had purchased a Seestar S50, a compact telescope controlled via a smartphone app.
He enjoyed using it, but “I found myself being frustrated that here in Miami, where I live, I could only take it out, maybe, if I was lucky, two nights a week.”
He began reaching out to various remote observatories. “The overwhelming reaction was ‘You’re kidding, right? That’s a $500 telescope. That’s never going to work,’” Mr. Garcia recalls. The lowest monthly rate he found was a steep $800.
Upon learning about Starfront, he eagerly subscribed to the cheapest option, then $149 a month, and shipped his telescope to Texas.
Mr. Garcia subsequently produced a video demonstrating how he configured and controlled his Seestar using a Mac. These smaller telescopes now constitute a significant portion of Starfront’s business. In the newer sheds, multiple Seestars can be mounted on a single steel beam at the front of the building, offering an even more economical option at just $99 a month.
Starfront recently acquired an adjacent 20-acre parcel, providing ample space for numerous additional sheds and telescopes. The company is also actively exploring the potential for a second observatory site in the Southern Hemisphere.
As the influx of telescopes to Starfront grew, the founders initially struggled to keep pace with customer support demands.
“We were drowning,” Mr. Kim admits.
To address this, they established a vibrant community on Discord, the instant messaging platform, enabling customers to assist one another. Participation is open to everyone, not just those with telescopes at Starfront. This initiative has fostered a dynamic group of individuals who collaborate on technical issues and combine data from multiple telescopes to produce even higher-quality images.
“You’ve got 2,000 astronomy lovers in one place all talking about the same thing,” Mr. Gibson enthuses.
“And they’re hilarious,” Mr. Kim playfully adds.
A breathtaking long-exposure image showcases numerous illuminated telescopes under the radiant glow of the Milky Way, with a bright streak (possibly a meteor or satellite) traversing the night sky. (Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The New York Times)