Building on the success of Arizona Sky Village (located just 15 miles to the west), Rancho Hidalgo provides an ideal setting for astronomers
to experience the ultimate in dark skies while enjoying an enhanced lifestyle. After the immense popularity of Arizona Sky Village (“ASV”),
with articles appearing continually in many noted
desert skies of Southeastern Arizona. We have found that observing at Rancho Hidalgo and the Arizona Sky Village 10 miles away
offer some of the most enviably dark, transparent skies in the Southwestern United States. Faint zodiacal light actually overpowers
the bright Milky Way! Even the most seasoned of observers are amazed at the views through the Ranch’s large-aperture telescope.
My
gallery has examples of images I captured with the small-aperture 77mm BORG at f/4 and a Canon DSLR. They reveal the faint background
of nebulosity in which many objects such as the Orion, Horse Head, and Heart & Soul Nebulae are embedded.
My robotic 16-inch
Meade LX200 with an Apogee Alta camera produces over 1,000 images each long winter night from the ASV. As part of the Puckett Search
Team (www.cometwatch.com), my observatory has been credited with discovering 10 supernovae in just two years.
We can’t
wait for El Encanto Vineyards to come on line at Rancho Hidalgo so we can sit
national and international publications such as The New York Times, National Geographic, Life Magazine 70 Years in Pictures, Reuters,
Associated Press, Rolex for Enterprise, Tucson Weekly, Astronomy Magazine, and Sky and Telescope, Rancho Hidalgo has enjoyed instant
media exposure. Rancho Hidalgo has already been featured in several Astronomy Magazine Editor Video Blogs, Astronomy Magazine articles,
and on MSNBC.
Jack and Alice Newton are back in the Southwest for the winter months, enjoying the mild weather and extraordinary viewing
conditions. Read below what they have to say about Rancho Hidalgo.
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