SSON Telescopes and Pricing
Network Telescopes Available for Imaging
Currently there are three telescopes available to our users. The telescopes are housed in
professional observatories located at excellent dark-sky sites in the northern and southern hemisphere.
Imaging Time Rates
You pay only for the actual imaging time used. In other
words you are only paying for the actual time the shutter of the CCD cameras are
open. There are no additional charges whatsoever.
We charge you for imaging time on the Sierra Stars Observatory Network using credits from
your SSON account. Standard (non-discounted) SSON credits costs $1 (USD) per credit
with a $50 minimum purchase. You purchase SSON credits through our online secure
Paypal system. If your institution prefers to pay by check, bank transfer, or other methods, contact
us to make arrangements.
We charge different rates for the SSON telescopes based on their size, instrumentation, and location.
Rates are computed as a number of credits per hour. The cost of your images are
calculated for the number of minutes of each exposure at the credit rate of the
telescope used. For example, if you scheduled a 3-minute (180 second) image on a
telescope with a base rate of 100 credits per hour (1.67 credits/minute), your account
is charged 5 credits for the image. The minumum time charge for images is 30 seconds
and images at shorter exposure times are charged at this rate.
We offer discounts to customers who purchase larger blocks of time in advance at
the following savings:
|
Purchase Amount |
Percent Discount |
Credits/$100 |
Credits/Minute @
$100/hour base rate |
| $50 to $999 |
0% |
100 |
1.67 |
| $1,000 to $4,999 |
10% |
110 |
1.50 |
| $5,000 to $9,999 |
15% |
115 |
1.42 |
| $10,000+ |
20% |
120 |
1.34 |
Special Trial Rate for first-time users!
We offer a special one-time rate for new customers using
the Sierra Stars Observatory Network for the first time. For $50 you get 50 minutes (83
credits) of imaging time. That's more than a 40 percent discount below our base
price.
Click here to purchase time now.
Note: Universities and institutions seriously interested in using our services can
contact us about a free test trial.
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Individual Telescope Imaging Rates
Base Rate = 100 credits per hour
Base Rate = 50 credits per hour
Base Rate = 60 credits per hour
The SSON Commitment to Quality
We guarantee that you receive high-quality image data. If an image is corrupted due to weather (cloud cover) or equipment failure, your account is not charged for the time used.
The Sierra Stars Observatory Network optimizes observing requests to schedule your
images as close to the meridian as practical for a given observing session. Customers
who purchase large time blocks have priority for scheduling conflicts. You can also
schedule images for specific times during an observing run.
The data you acquire belongs to you and is strictly confidential for use as you choose.
Our only request is that if you publish a paper using data acquired with the Sierra
Stars Observatory that you cite this fact in your paper.
For complete information on how to schedule observing time, see our
Operations Guide for SSO Clients and the Frequently Asked Questions
page.
The Sierra Stars Observatory Network Advantage
Sierra Stars Observatory offers a level of freedom and affordability not available
elsewhere for your convenience Some of the advantages include:
- Flexibility of observatory access at your convenience and discretion
- Costs are for actual imaging time only.
- No travel expenses.
- No on-site or maintenance issues.
- Your data are available to you immediately after observing runs.
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