Remote imaging versus hands-on astrophotography: the debate continues

The calculus here in Ireland is simple. We are lucky to get 1 clear night a month. Many here have now switched to remote in Spain etc as result.
We have not had a fully clear night here since early October..
I used to be very much in the hand-on camp but the more I get into the hobby, the more appealing a remote setup becomes. Projects requiring very long integration might take many years as by the time another clear night comes, the target is no longer visible. Cost is the only factor for me really.

I have many remote setups, one of them is in my own garden.

Except a few maintenance things, it is exactly the same as controlling the telescope in Namibia remotely - except for better seeing, more darkness and far less clouds.

My 2 cents:

Astrophotography today offers different paths, and each of them has its own value. Remote telescopes are an extraordinary tool: they give access to pristine skies, advanced instruments, and data that would otherwise be unreachable for many people. They democratize astrophotography and push its technical and scientific potential further than ever before.

At the same time, traveling to dark skies, setting up your own gear, and spending the night under the stars is a completely different experience. It is slower, less efficient, and often more demanding. But it is also deeply human. The drive into the darkness, the quiet moments while polar aligning, the cold air, the sound of the wind, the Milky Way rising above you. You are not just collecting photons, you are living the night.

For me, this is where the poetry of astrophotography truly resides. The final image carries the memory of that place and that moment. It reflects the patience, the waiting, the small struggles, and the awe of standing beneath an immense sky. Traditional astrophotography is not only about results, but about presence, connection, and wonder.

Both approaches can coexist and inspire us in different ways. But while remote astrophotography shows us the universe, being under the stars reminds us why we fell in love with it in the first place.

And last… I’ve got a lot of astrophotography friends… Love to spend nights together with them under the stars! We have a lot of fun! 😀

Well, I’m a taint. 🤔

My equipment is in my backyard. But the remoteness is about 75 feet via Wi-Fi. I can, and have to, be hands on, but nobody covers or uncovers my equipment, and when a software glitch occurs it’s me, myself, and I who attends to it. Like right now ASTAP is being bratty, so I’m dealing with that.

Keeps the gray matter twitching.

Sometimes I will sit out with my gear and look up and listen to the night critters. But I can choose.

Taint far away, Taint makin me sit out in the cold and babysit. I can choose,,,

And I choose to use the equipment I want to use. At least my wife doesn’t feel like a golf widow.

My $0.02 worth, is that if you have gone to the trouble of building an actual backyard observatory, there really is no difference to a remote observatory (assuming using your own equipment in each case). The difference is your “backyard" is now thousand(s) of miles away. I have a tandem setup so I can do wide field as well as long fl imaging so I don't need to change setups…but that was the case in my own backyard as well.

I personally took my equipment to HCRO and set it up myself, just like in my backyard. I run it just like it was in my backyard. I frequently monitor it during the night’s imaging run…just like when it was in my backyard.

Now if you are setting up a tearing down every night or with some frequency due to being able to leave it in the backyard covered from time to time. Taking it to a remote site occasionally to get better conditions…that is an entirely different animal and I've been there, done that.

If you are just buying data…to each their own I say.

CS,

Jeff

There’s no debate. Different strokes for different folks. Worry about yourself and not what Jim Bob is doing.

Did Backyard imaging for two years. Its fun but you can only image so many narrowband targets from B7 that is now becoming B8 and worsening. About the only broadband target that you can image are bright galaxies and very bright nebulae like Orion. Beyond that it was a slugfest.

I have two remote setups now. Both setups are things that I have personally used in my backyard for months before setting them up remotely. Depends on where you send your remote setup, you can personally take your equipment, set it up yourself, and just use the onsite staff for troubleshooting any issues that come up. It is still very hands on IMO. It never works smoothly and 99% of the time, if there is a problem, you need to figure it out and fix it and give the instructions to the onsite tech. In some ways it is harder than backyard imaging.

When I was doing backyard astrophotography, I had my setup essentially outdoors covered for months on end, and all I did was turn it on, uncover the scope and run in the office to start the process. Hardly any different remotely.

I still do planetary imaging and visual from home. Gives me enough things to do and play with.

To each their own, but remote imaging has extended my enjoyment of AP significantly.

Ashraf AbuSara · Jan 20, 2026 at 04:07 PM

Did Backyard imaging for two years. Its fun but you can only image so many narrowband targets from B7 that is now becoming B8 and worsening. About the only broadband target that you can image are bright galaxies and very bright nebulae like Orion. Beyond that it was a slugfest.

I have two remote setups now. Both setups are things that I have personally used in my backyard for months before setting them up remotely. Depends on where you send your remote setup, you can personally take your equipment, set it up yourself, and just use the onsite staff for troubleshooting any issues that come up. It is still very hands on IMO. It never works smoothly and 99% of the time, if there is a problem, you need to figure it out and fix it and give the instructions to the onsite tech.

When I was doing backyard astrophotography, I had my setup essentially outdoors covered for months on end, and all I did was turn it on, uncover the scope and run in the office to start the process. Hardly any different remotely.

I still do planetary imaging and visual from home. Gives me enough things to do and play with.

To each their own, but remote imaging has extended my enjoyment of AP significantly.

Yes, imaging under B7-B8 does present challenges for broadband. I’m in the same boat and if cost wasn’t a concern, I’d probably have at least one rig at a remote site. At this point, I can’t justify the monthly fee.

Tony Gondola · Jan 20, 2026, 04:07 PM

If I take a little peek into the future where I can imagine time when it will be possible for small groups to pool the funds to build and launch a small telescope into space.

MAYBE OFF TOPIC

Hi Tony,

This was in the making back in 2011 - 2013 but never was finished ¿?. I personally knew Heiko Wilkens and the idea came up during his visit to Mexico where we spoke about this.

Make a search with the words “heiko wilkens telescope in space”

Below the link to one article of many about this project

https://opsjournal.org/DocumentLibrary/Uploads/Public_%20Telescope.pdf

https://www.invest-in-bavaria.com/en/blog/post/astrofactum-receives-eu-funding-for-space-telescope-project-public-telescope

https://hobbyspace.com/Blog/?p=10886

He even got funds from European governments. I tried to contact him a few years ago and it is just like the Earth swallowed him. He was a good friend of me until he disappeared 🤔 I even contacted one of his project associates (Mr. Christian Wiederer) and he also told me he does not know where he is. 🧐

He was also the developper of the Lucam Recorder software for the LUMENERA cameras (mainly Microscopy use) as well as The Imaging Source cameras which nowadays of course are obsolete due to the many different good chinese cameras.

📷 image.png

The company Astrofactum GmbH disappeared mid 2018 and ended in 2019.

📷 image.png

That’s really interesting Rainer, I’ll certainly have a look at all that.

My thinking is that if Starship or something like it is the way forward, costs will come down enough to make privately owned space telescopes a possibility.

Rainer Ehlert · Jan 20, 2026, 05:03 PM

May I ask in regard to this topic …

What is the main reason or what drives us for going remote, and with remote I mean a few hundreds to thousand km/miles away from our backyard?

🤔

A large number of clear, dark (B1) skies.

Tony Gondola · Jan 20, 2026, 05:04 PM

That’s really interesting Rainer, I’ll certainly have a look at all that.

My thinking is that if Starship or something like it is the way forward, costs will come down enough to make privately owned space telescopes a possibility.

I guess it will still stay in the 6 digit figure $$$$$$. OK, some people already have on Earth 7 digit set ups 😎 and if I take what I invested in MXN $ Pesos then I am in the 7 digit figure 🤣