SkiesLIVE About
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About

SkiesLIVE Observatory

A Missouri observatory dedicated to astronomy science outreach through live observation.

Who we are

SkiesLIVE Observatory is a professional astronomy observatory in the greater Kansas City area, operated by SKIESLIVE LLC, a corporation organized under the laws of the State of Missouri.

From our rural dark-sky site, we run live telescope sessions, all-sky monitoring, and public-facing tools under the SkiesLIVE community and ApexASTRO platform brands. What you see on stream and on the website comes from a real observatory: real instruments, real nights, and a standing commitment to share the sky with everyone who joins us.

Our mission

Our work centers on science outreach in astronomy, especially through live observation. We believe the night sky is best understood when people can watch it happen in real time: planets rising, deep-sky targets settling into the field of view, aurora and space weather unfolding as conditions change.

Live sessions, community conversation, and the tools we build (including ApexSKY and ApexHUD) all serve the same purpose: help more people see, learn, and stay curious, whether they are first-time stargazers or seasoned observers.

Scientific participation

Outreach sits alongside serious observing. At the observatory we run automated sky surveys and custom software pipelines that capture, process, and share data. That work supports both public live sessions and contributions to the wider scientific community.

Observing systems

  • Automated sky survey Scheduled and continuous survey programs that watch the sky when conditions allow, built to catch change overnight, not only during live streams.
  • Custom observatory software In-house tools for imaging, pipeline processing, alerting, and live operations. Software written for our instruments and workflows, not a black-box kit.

Memberships

  • The Planetary Society Supporting planetary science, exploration, and public engagement.
  • ALPO The Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers. Organized networks for serious lunar and planetary observing.

Data we contribute

  • ALPO Observational reports and measurements submitted to ALPO section programs.
  • TNS / IAU Transient reports submitted to the Transient Name Server, operated for the International Astronomical Union.
  • JPL / NASA Observational data contributed to Jet Propulsion Laboratory programs in support of NASA science.

These affiliations and submissions reflect our participation in established scientific communities. They do not imply endorsement of SkiesLIVE by those organizations.

Our team

SkiesLIVE is a large collaborative effort. The observatory and the community around it are built by people who care about the sky, and about making live astronomy welcoming every night we are on air.

Observatory

Roman

Leads operations at SkiesLIVE Observatory: instrumentation, imaging, live telescope sessions, and the technical systems that keep streams and site data running.

Community and outreach

Live community partners

A dedicated crew across YouTube, Discord, and our social channels. They host conversation, welcome newcomers, and keep live nights orderly and inclusive. They are full partners in this adventure, the people who turn a stream into a community.

Connect with us

Watch live, join the conversation, or reach the observatory team.