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The problem is distribution of employees. We live in Cloudcroft, 20 minutes or so away from the observatory. El Paso has one worker, and not only is their COVID case count exploding, they're instituting a curfew at night and putting beds in their convention center. So that employee might not be able to come across the state line. He initially wasn't able to work on-site when the telescope initially reopened and did a lot of remote work and work on other stuff.
Las Cruces has 2.5 employees, and is also experiencing a high case count.
Which means Russet, by herself, is the only one who can run the telescope. I.E. not possible. In the summer, she could run it on a varied schedule. In the winter, forget it. The shift - regardless of time of year - is an hour or so before sundown to an hour or so after sunrise. So winter is hell. And just not possible for one person over an extended period of time.
The other telescope, the Sloan 2.5 meter, has six people or so in the Cloudcroft/Alamogordo area, and they need two people per night, so they can probably remain operational. The site itself, most of those people are local.
Interesting times we live in.
EDIT: El Paso, by itself, is having more new COVID cases on a daily basis than New Mexico in toto. And Las Cruces is about 40 miles away, they're both on I-10 and have LOTS of back and forthing, people living in each other's city and working or going to uni in the other. That's one of the main cross-fertilizing factors. All of the counties in NM that are blowing up big - except ours, Otero, border Texas. I'm not sure why ours is not included in that group.
Las Cruces has 2.5 employees, and is also experiencing a high case count.
Which means Russet, by herself, is the only one who can run the telescope. I.E. not possible. In the summer, she could run it on a varied schedule. In the winter, forget it. The shift - regardless of time of year - is an hour or so before sundown to an hour or so after sunrise. So winter is hell. And just not possible for one person over an extended period of time.
The other telescope, the Sloan 2.5 meter, has six people or so in the Cloudcroft/Alamogordo area, and they need two people per night, so they can probably remain operational. The site itself, most of those people are local.
Interesting times we live in.
EDIT: El Paso, by itself, is having more new COVID cases on a daily basis than New Mexico in toto. And Las Cruces is about 40 miles away, they're both on I-10 and have LOTS of back and forthing, people living in each other's city and working or going to uni in the other. That's one of the main cross-fertilizing factors. All of the counties in NM that are blowing up big - except ours, Otero, border Texas. I'm not sure why ours is not included in that group.
