Rancho Del Sol observatory

Rancho Del Sol Observatory is a private astrophotography observatory tucked into the Sierra Nevada foothills near Camino, California, about an hour east of Sacramento.

About Rancho Del Sol Observatory

The observatory belongs to American astrophotographer Ken Crawford, whose deep-sky images from this site have been featured on NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day. It sits at an elevation of around 3,120 feet and carries the Minor Planet Center observatory code G67.

History

Rancho Del Sol was built in spring 2002, using a roll-off roof design that opens the interior fully to the sky for imaging.

Telescopes & research

The observatory operates robotically, controlled both by hardwired connections on site and remotely over the internet from Ken Crawford's home office. It is equipped with a Boltwood cloud sensor and a Davis weather station to monitor conditions automatically, allowing imaging sessions to run without anyone present. Dark skies and generally good seeing make it well suited to deep-sky astrophotography, though tall surrounding trees limit each session to roughly five to six hours and restrict the view of the southern sky.

Location & getting there

The observatory is located in Camino, California, in the Sierra Nevada foothills, part of the North America region.

Visiting Rancho Del Sol Observatory

Rancho Del Sol is a private, remotely operated observatory and is not a public visiting site. It's best appreciated through the astrophotography images it produces rather than an in-person tour.

See your named star from here

An observatory built for precision imaging like this one is exactly the kind of instrument that can locate a star by its right ascension and declination, including one named through Star Register. Name a star as a gift, or explore the star catalogue to see what's already there.