Unique Luxury Home: Stargazing at the Dogstar Observatory

What if you could turn your love for astronomy into a dream vacation? Dreams come true at the Dogstar Observatory in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

The setting is a luxury home imagined to be an “astronomer’s dream” due to its in-home observatory.

Nestled deep in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, the Dogstar Observatory home rests within the upscale golf club and community Balsam Mountain Preserve.

The Dogstar is unlike any other in-home observatory experience you might have come across. One element, the sliding peaked-roof design, makes this spectacle unique and nearly undetectable from outside the home, as most observatory homeowners opt for a flat-roof build. Another key: nearly 80% of the 4,400 acres that encompass Balsam will never be developed and will remain in its natural state as it’s deeded permanently to a land trust. As for the observatory, this means there will be great visibility as there’s very minimal light pollution.

The best observing season is upon us as we near the fall and winter months with more time after dusk to gaze at the stars when the night sky is at its brightest and clearest. It’s also worth mentioning that in the winter months of December through February, the Northern Hemisphere of the earth looks out to the edge of the Milky Way, further reducing light pollution from the approximate 300 billion stars that make up the galaxy (Farmer’s Almanac).