Local astronomer Michael Schwartz may have a contract with NASA, but his real passion lays in teaching the community about the solar system.

In Patagonia Im known as Astronomer Michael, he said.

Schwartz, 67, travels to deliver lectures and host astronomy nights in Patagonia from his home on top of a hill in the rural, rugged terrain between Patagonia Lake and Rio Rico.

The public is curious but also unafraid to ask about astronomy, he said.

When he travels to Patagonia, Schwartz brings along a portable telescope. But back at home, which doubles as his so-called Tenagra Observatories, two large, automated professional telescopes scan the night sky for near-Earth objects (NEOs) satellites and comets that travel close to our planet.

Every night before he goes to bed, Schwartz sends computer codes from the control room inside his house telling the telescopes where to look in the sky.

One of those telescopes, the Tenagra II, a blue, custom-made 32-inch model, sends the images it collects to NASA for general study and monitoring. If the data shows that a deadly NEO will impact the Earth, NASA can then re-direct or blow the object up.

Theres a very real asteroid threat, but its a kind of pseudo-real, Schwartz said. It can happen tomorrow or it could happen within the next 50,000 years.

Schwartz, a largely self-taught astronomer, was awarded a grant with NASA in 2015. Hes one of the few people not affiliated with a university to have received one, he said.

Schwartzs interest in space began when, as a 12-year-old, he was playing at his schools playground and a stranger with a telescope asked him if he wanted to take a look. Peering into the telescope, he saw Saturn.

I fell in love (with astronomy). I saw something perfect and I never fell out of love, said Schwartz, who recently got an orange tattoo of Saturn on his forearm.

I only hope that Im one of those people to someone else, he said of the stranger that introduced him to astronomy.

Growing up in New Jersey, Schwartz said, he would operate small telescopes and frequently visit astronomy museums.

I practically grew up in the Hayden Planetarium in New York City, he said.

While he took a few astronomy courses in college, Schwartz said, he ultimately graduated with degrees in anthropology and physics before going on to found a successful software company.

After selling his company, he turned his attention to professional astronomy, inventing automated computer-controlled telescopes and selling access to his images to universities.

Schwartz said after driving all across Arizona and New Mexico, he opened Tenagra Observatories named after an island in Star Trek in 2000 because of Santa Cruz Countys clear skies and proximity to amenities in Rio Rico and the community in Patagonia. He said prime spots for astronomy are often remote, but this location lets him conduct his studies while having a normal life.

When his grant with NASA runs out at the end of the year, Schwartz will hand the control of his telescopes to Gianluca Masi, an astrophysicist who will program and monitor the Tenagra telescopes from Italy. Schwartz described Masi as the Neil deGrasse Tyson of Italy, referencing the popular American science commentator and director of the Hayden Planetarium.

Once his grant ends, Schwartz said, he will focus on total public outreach and education.

He said hes committed to volunteering at places like the Patagonia Public Schools or the Tin Shed Theater, partly in response to what he sees as a huge dumbing-down of America.

My own pet peeve is conspiracy theorists as they relate to things astronomical, he said.

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Local astronomer sets lens on public outreach - Nogales International