Starfront Observatories

ok so why not download a high res photo off the web? There is probably a photo for every single astronomy thing you want to photograph?

I get the appeal. Those are pictures are stunning, and probably better than I could take myself, but they aren't my picture. I can see wanting to take one of my own, even if someone else has already done it.

It's like ham radio: you can buy fully certified working receivers - or build one yourself. Latter one has huge learning curve and gives you full control over the process, the first one not.

In addition to it being fun to do it yourself, it's still possible for an amateur to beat the pros in certain areas like finding new comets (like 2I/Borisov).

Why do anything yourself? I love cooking. It takes me hours. I could order the same thing from a delivery service or go eat at a restaurant and not have to wash up pots and pans afterwards.

But the process of going and visiting shops, selecting ingredients, chopping, slicing, stirring, searing, seasoning, getting things wrong, getting things right and then sitting down to eat something that I’ve cooked is far more satisfying than ordering in.

I think this is a service that makes sense for people who bough expensive telescopes but realised too late they live in a big city that is constantly overcast.