Ga. Astronomy Village Fills Up Quickly

[Al Fansome]

October 27, 2007
Ga. Astronomy Village Fills Up Quickly
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Filed at 1:12 p.m. ET

SHARON, Ga. (AP) -- The most important rule at this remote vacation spot
is simple: no white light. Even a sliver of the pupil-dilating rays
coming from the window of a cabin at Deerlick Astronomy Village could
ruin a neighbor's view of the Milky Way. The 96-acre village in rural
Taliaferro County in eastern Georgia is designed for amateur stargazers
looking for total darkness and wide-open spaces to build weekend homes.

''It's like a lake house for geeks,'' said Chris Hetlage, co-founder of
the village, as he tromped through the darkness toward his observatory.

Hetlage said he and his business partners figured the development would
be popular. There are only two other similar communities nationwide --
one in Florida and one in Arizona -- and he said the demand for dark
skies is soaring as suburban sprawl produces more light pollution.

But Hetlage said he was surprised just how quickly the two-acres plots sold.

Star lovers -- some as far away as Michigan -- have snatched up all of
the 17 plots that went on the market less than two years ago. The
business plan aimed for those plots to sell in five years.

The grassy field lined with trees holds six homes and nine
observatories, which look like tiny cabins with retractable roofs.

Next to the houses is a 10-acre hilltop observation field where
stargazers who don't want to buy property can pitch a tent and scan the
sky for free. The field is the new home of the Atlanta Astronomy Club's
telescope and the 300-member group's annual stargazing festival, held
earlier this month.

''This is going to become one of the premier amateur stargazing sites in
the Southeast,'' said Tom Crowley, chairman of the club's board, as he
sat at Deerlick on a recent night.

Deerlick property owners are vigilant about white light, which dilates
pupils for about half an hour and makes it tough to see anything in the
dark.

Homes only have outdoor lights that are a dim red -- a color that
doesn't affect the eyes the same way as white light. And windows must be
lined with foam board or other light-blocking materials to prevent rays
from escaping.

Cars can drive into Deerlick at night, but they can only use their
parking lights to roam around. Star gazers who wander about the property
after dark use flashlights with red bulbs.

Five years ago, Hetlage and friend Donovan Conrad began hunting for
small plots of land where they could build their personal observatories.
The two are amateur astrophotographers who take hundreds of frames with
high-powered cameras attached to telescopes and layer them on a computer
to create images of galaxies 10,000 light years away.

Finding the perfect spot proved tough, as East Coast cities are so close
together that the stars are drowned out by light, Hetlage said. Most of
the land far enough from Atlanta's light pollution was available only in
large chunks, so Hetlage and Conrad bought a big chunk to create the
astronomy village.

They named the village Deerlick after a cluster of galaxies called the
Deer Lick Group.

The first few years, the men and a small group of initial investors
spent weekends, holidays and spare time clearing the land for the
development, putting in wiring and readying plots for plumbing. Conrad
moved his three sons to the development for a year where the family
worked on the land during the day and had home schooling at night.

''I would do anything to come out here,'' said 13-year-old Lucas Conrad,
who now lives in suburban Atlanta. ''It's my home. I love it out here.''

Dave Lacko, who lives in Taylor, Mich., heard about Deerlick before the
land parcels went up for sale and made a down payment even before his
plot was ready.

''It's great people down here, great skies,'' said Lacko, who visits his
observatory three to four times a year. ''It's just a unique community.''

------

On the Net:

Deerlick Astronomy Village: http://www.deerlickgroup.com/

Arizona Sky Village: http://www.arizonaskyvillage.com/

Chiefland Astronomy Village: http://www.chiefland.org/

[Ron Hammon]

Al Fansome wrote:

snip


snip

Strange place, where white light dialates pupils!

Ron Hammon

[Chris L Peterson]

On Fri, 23 Nov 2007 17:44:18 -0600, Ron Hammon <rghammon@bellsouth.nyet>
wrote:


Actually, no stranger than a place where white light constricts pupils
for a half an hour <g>.

_________________________________________________

Chris L Peterson
Cloudbait Observatory
http://www.cloudbait.com