The Night Sky Archive

Tom Shankapotomous
Jan 1
2 min read

Updated: 3 days ago

The Night Sky Archive operates as a field archive of the Shank Gym Observatory and is directly tied to the 2026 Spartan Race season. Each entry corresponds to an Expedition—an expanded framework that treats Spartan races and associated travel as observational fieldwork. The archive documents the night sky as seen from race venues preserving the specific sky present at each location and moment in time. This work prioritizes context over discovery, recording the sky not as an abstract subject, but as part of the lived landscape of each expedition.

Research Method

The Night Sky Archive follows a preparatory, non-specialist observational approach.

Prior to each session, background reading is used to understand the basic astronomical objects visible from the region, seasonal sky conditions, and known constraints such as light pollution and weather.
When available, planetariums, observatories, and science museums are used as reference points to ground observations in established astronomical knowledge.
Imaging and observation are conducted using accessible, consumer-grade equipment, with settings chosen to balance clarity and context rather than maximize technical performance. The focus remains on documenting what is visible from a given place, not on achieving optimal or competitive results.

Ethical & Technical Boundary

The Deep Sky Archive does not aim to contribute new astronomical findings or conduct scientific research. It involves no data manipulation beyond basic processing for visibility and documentation. All observations are limited to passive imaging and viewing of publicly observable celestial objects. The archive prioritizes honesty of conditions—light pollution, weather interference, and equipment limitations are recorded rather than corrected away.