They should build a large astronomical observatory on the summit of mount Everest

Instead of pressure suits, I recommend a flying submarine.

The telescope is secretly a radio base for the otters to call back to the otter planet to bring in the invasion force!



Tom Cruise, dressed like Han Solo, fights them and loses. Then he is given a "court martial" which results in him repairing drones on a devastated Earth after humans won the war and evacuated the planet.

Turns out things are not what Tom thinks they are.

This is the basic plot for Oblivion.

Low oxygen and almost constant very bad weather might work against you cunning plan. I'm pretty sure astronomers know what they're doing when they place those things on high points in the driest deserts there are.

Just out of curiosity, how great a factor is observatory altitude? Is higher always better?

My understanding is that it depends. The atmosphere distorts the images, so less atmosphere (by greater elevation) is better, all things being equal. However, several other factors can cause even greater distortion, and many of these are present at the top of Everest. Elevation is good, but not at the expense of yielding to other distortions.

This is where you go wrong. Without some anonymous internet poster who has no experience in astronomy or Himalayan mountaineering, how could astronomers ever be expected to figure these things out? It's not like they know much, just because they're experts in their field...