Topix Underground

As the Sun sets over the dry plains of rural Texas, something unusual begins to happen inside a series of long metal buildings surrounded by empty land. One by one, giant roofs slowly roll open, exposing hundreds of telescopes pointed toward the night sky. Some belong to hobbyists in Europe. Others are controlled by astrophotographers in Asia or researchers in North America. None of them are physically there. Instead, the telescopes are operated remotely through the internet from thousands of kilometres away. What sounds like science fiction is part of a rapidly growing industry known as a “telescope ranch”, where astronomy, remote technology and some of the darkest skies in America are creating a new way to explore the universe.