Future aligned in the stars: a business venture of astronomical proportions.

• Author: Wareing, Andrew
• Position: News

Randy McAllister sees his financial future in the stars.

It has often been said, after all, that a person is happiest when they can turn a hobby into a way to make a living. The 38-year-old, an avid amateur astronomer, is currently in the early development phase of turning his Thunder Bay observatory into a viable business.

"This is something that has been in the books for me since about 1989," says McAllister. "Over the years, I've made a number of lifestyle changes in order to accommodate this, including things like moving out to the country and putting myself in a financial position to be able to afford to do this.

"There are literally hundreds of thousands of amateur astronomers out there, but only a handful of people paid for it," he says. "I'm trying to bridge that gap."

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McAllister, who is an information technology (IT) professional working with the Ontario government, is working on the business venture with the aim of having Thunder Bay become a centre for astronomical research for astronomy enthusiasts, students and professionals worldwide.

"Right now, the few observatories that are available (remotely) are in the southern United States and are geared to educational institutions. And the ones that are privately owned are commercially available, but not readily available. They're just booked solid by three or four to one," he says.

The Thunder Bay Observatory currently consists of a single dome he built that houses a 14-inch aperture telescope, but may eventually be replaced by a 30-inch aperture telescope. The observatory sits on his property on Candy Mountain, about 20 minutes south of Thunder Bay.

"It's a great sight because it is away from interfering light pollution, and because our winters are very cold, we have optimal viewing conditions," says McAllister. "For someone to go outside with their telescope at home when it's 40 below is impractical, so I've tried to make that step for accessing the telescope without going outside. If I'm going through that step, making it available by remote control, my next step is to make it available through the Internet."

McAllister's interest in astronomy dates back as far as he can remember. His first telescope was given to him by his parents so that he could watch the 1986 return of Halley's Comet. Since then, the idea of developing the hobby as a way to make a living has slowly progressed.

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"The whole idea was to develop it with a smaller scope...