Location 32.5°N, 107.99°W
Tweleve astronomy families have purchased lots at the NMAV. Eight astronomy families are living here already, with more moving in soon. Dozens of others have visited the Village and hope to move here. The NMAV might turn out to be one of the best astronomy villages in the country. Come join us…
Imagine a place 4800' above sea level, where the sky is DARK, the seeing is GOOD, and the transparency is FANTASTIC -- an astronomer's dream.
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The weather is pretty mild year round – not too hot in the summer and not too cold in the winter. At altitude it is cool at night and warm in the afternoons. It's very good for observing and astro-imaging.
The NMAV is under dark skies - 21.6 SQM - but only 20 minutes to Deming and 40 minutes to Silver City. Land is fairly inexpensive, yet not isolated. A paved highway runs right up to the edge of the neighborhood, so there is no bone-jarring, auto destroying dirt roads to get here. Decent stores, restaurants, hospitals and civilization are close by.
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Come join us for a new adventure in astronomy and the best observing of your life!
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History
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In the fall of 2010, Tom and Jeannie Clark ended a six month tour of the west, looking for the ideal place to relocate their 42" Dobsonian. (Tom is a noted maker of Dobsonian telescopes. Google 'Tom Clark Dobsonian' for more.) For the previous 14 years, they lived at the Chiefland Astronomy Village in Florida. They wanted darker, drier, and more transparent skies with good seeing -- the kind of skies astronomers dream about. From their trips to the west, they knew about the wonderful transparency of high desert skies when doing visual observing and imaging. They learned that seeing is far better on level grasslands than rocky mountainous areas!
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In their search for a site, the Clarks had the following criteria:
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Dark skies on the light pollution maps
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Good seeing
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Good transparency
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Low humidity
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No miles and miles of rough dirt roads
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Room for other astronomers to move to the area
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Good restaurants and grocery stores less than 30 min away
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A reasonable year round climate.
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An affordable area with low taxes
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Golf courses and other activities close by. (we are not hermits)
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An active astronomy presence
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Timely hospital and medical care
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They looked at existing astronomy communities in the southwest but found that, by the time you find dark skies with good seeing, you are far from civilization, restaurants and health care. Or the weather is stark, the roads off the main highway are long and bone jarring, and you find yourself hard pressed to answer the question: where do I go to buy a bolt?!
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The Clarks learned about the Silver City area, met some members of the Silver City Astronomical Society (an active club that, unfortunately, has since disbanded), and started looking for a suitable property. After a month of exploring, they choose a location between Silver City and Deming that would be suitable for a new observatory for their 42" Dobsonian. With the twin goals of great observing and replicating their enjoyable Chiefland experience, Tom and Jeannie Clark founded the New Mexico Astronomy Village in 2010, and moved to the site in March of 2012.
The Present
The Village is located in a flat, scenic valley at 4800' elevation, with beautiful mountains in the distance, but not close enough to cause seeing problems. The land is part of a failed development 20 miles north of Deming, and 30 miles south of Silver City on US Highway 180, near the City of Rocks State Park. Deer, antelope, and lots of small critters inhabit the flat grasslands. The lots are, on average, 3/4 mile off Hwy 180 on well maintained county roads. Deming is 20 minutes away, with a Super Wal-Mart, True Value, and other stores. Deming also has some good restaurants, doctors, and a hospital. Silver City has its own Super Wal-Mart, plus an Albertsons, Ace Hardware, a Medicare rated 4 star medical center, and lots of good restaurants. (After a few visits you will quickly realize that Silver City is a hippie retiree community.)
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Clear skies prevail much of the year. The sky is dark, the stars are brilliant, and the seeing and transparency are usually excellent. A state-wide lighting ordinance was enacted in 1999. They State of New Mexico knows it has dark skies and wants to protect them. The NMAV also sponsored updates to covenants that, among other good neighbor policies, mandates adherence to the New Mexico dark skies ordinance for properties in the Butterfield Trail development.
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Cell service is excellent; a tower lies three miles to the north. Internet access is available by something like a 4G MiFi or satellite (no cable).
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The surrounding area (Deming, Silver City, Las Cruces) is a vibrant astronomy community. Some of our members are active in organizing local star parties. A monthly trip to the Astronomical Society of Las Cruces meeting is a chance to share ideas, browse the hardware stores, and sample some good cuisine. Interested in outreach? The City of Rocks State Park, 7 miles from the Village, advertises dark skies and has a roll-off-roof observatory where they hold astronomy programs for the public. They are always looking for volunteers.
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The best part about the Village is the people. Yes, we live and breathe astronomy. But we also have other interests: hiking, RVing, radio controlled planes, photography to name a few. We usually get together three times a week for meals at nearby restaurants. We look out for each other: hey -- we're all retirees!
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The NMAV has been designated a Dark Sky Preserve
Deming light dome can be seen in the distance
Challenges
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The land is flat, which means light domes in the distance. All domes are low and unobtrusive on clear, dry nights.
The Deming (population 15,000) light dome is about 5-10 degrees high in the SE. Las Cruces is dim but detectable from 60 miles away to the E-SE. The Silver City (population 12,000) dome can barely be seen 30 miles to the north. Lordsburg has a small light dome to the west. When the air is clear, the domes are minimal; but, with humidity or dust, those domes rise to about 25 degrees.
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There is a tiny 'Rest Area' on the highway, with a few lights. The few parking lot lights are full cut-off lights with no sky glow, but two small light on the side of the rest rooms are not shielded.
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There are a few 'yard lights' in the development and about a dozen neighbors in a one-mile square area; the neighbors' light interference is minimal. A few trees and shrubs can totally eliminate any lights from your property, including the light night traffic on US 180. We are actively working to ensure compliance with the State lighting standard as well as the NMAV covenants.
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Like most things in life, there are tradeoffs. Does the NMAV have the darkest skies? No. However, of the four important criteria for astronomers (clear skies, darkness, seeing, transparency), darkness is the only aspect that can be overcome by relatively inexpensive technology (e.g., a $200 filter). There are astronomers who do phenomenal work in skies categorized as Bortles 7! A surprising number of amateur astronomy sites are located next to hills or on tops of ridges. In either case, rising and falling air associated with "vertical relief" affects seeing. The NMAV inhabits a relatively flat plain that reduces seeing instabilities.
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Want to Join Us?
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It is not surprising the folks who now live at the NMAV had the same criteria as the Clarks. We pored over dark sky charts, monthly weather conditions, and the seeing & transparency data for various sites. We visited different sites. Once we concluded the NMAV was a great place to observe, the fact the area had all the amenities of civilization made the final decision easy.
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Now the Village has so much more to offer than just good observing. We have all kinds of astronomical interests, and the desire to share: visual, small & large scale astrophotography, spectroscopy, photometry, various telescope and mount designs, etc. And then there's all the essential astronomy infrastructure skills. Several villagers have machine shops that can make just about anything. Want to know how to pour a concrete pad for a telescope pier? Build a domed observatory? If we don't have resident expertise, we can put you in touch with mirror makers, mount builders, real estate agents, and septic installers.
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Want to learn more? The easiest way is to join our MeWe community. More than a few residents spent several years as participants in our on-line forum while looking at options. It's the best way to learn about us and the surrounding area before a visit. If you're like most of us, there's only one chance to realize your astronomy dream, and it is a big deal. At a minimum you'll spend close to $100 thousand to buy the property, living quarters, install electric, a well, and septic. Maybe a partnership is in the offing. Just within the last year, two guys who were "on-line" participants, separated by a couple thousand miles, realized a common interest and jointly purchased an existing property thereby saving 10s of thousands of dollars.
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When you're ready, come see us. There's a link on the Village community page that tells you how to schedule a visit (very informal -- no passport required). The nearest major metropolitan airport is El Paso, about 1h 50m away. The best time to come is during a new moon when there's likely to be a local star party. You'll find a very welcoming group of people. And, weather permitting, you'll lookup at a sky that beckons you to stay.
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