NASA selects Challis as site for observatory

CHALLIS, Idaho — The dark skies over minimally developed central Idaho has made it the choice of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration for a new observatory.

Custer County Economic Development Director Gynii Gilliam has secured a grant and a lease on Bureau of Land Management land just west of town for the Challis Rapid Reaction Observatory.

Gilliam expects the unmanned research facility to be constructed next spring, featuring 14-inch and 16-inch telescopes that NASA scientists can program remotely.

When a satellite detects gamma ray bursts, such as a supernova, the Challis telescopes will gather images and automatically relay them to NASA.

Other telescopes on the east and west coasts are observing the area at the same time.

But Gilliam said the agency believes the Challis observatory can provide the clearest images and data.

“They say we have ideal viewing conditions with low light pollution, high altitude, low cloud cover and dry climate,” Gilliam said. “The wilderness behind us isn’t going anywhere so our viewing conditions are never going to change.”

NASA is furnishing the telescopes and computer equipment while $45,000 in grants from the state’s Gem Community program and the Steele-Reese Foundation, which supports educational projects, will underwrite construction, which is being offset by labor and material donations from the community.

Boise State University is a partner in the project, Gilliam said, and a dozen Challis teachers have received training in the telescopes’ software so they can use it with their students.

Idaho also has observatories at Albertson College of Idaho in Caldwell, the College of Southern Idaho in Twin Falls and the Bruneau Dunes Observatory in Bruneau.