Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute is a nonprofit observatory and research center in the Pisgah National Forest near Balsam Grove, North Carolina, known for radio and optical telescopes, dark skies, and public education. Founded on the former Rosman Satellite Tracking Station, established in 1962 for NASA and later used by the National Security Agency for signals intelligence until 1995, the site was saved from dismantling and converted into the present observatory in 1999. Its major assets include large radio telescopes, a remote-teaching instrument called Smiley, and the Astronomical Photographic Data Archive, one of the world’s largest plate collections, alongside broad research partnerships, citizen science, and outreach.