diff --git a/python/desc/skycatalogs/_version.py b/python/desc/skycatalogs/_version.py
index 4f191369..99b3f985 100644
--- a/python/desc/skycatalogs/_version.py
+++ b/python/desc/skycatalogs/_version.py
@@ -1 +1 @@
-__version__ = "1.5.0-rc1"
+__version__ = "1.5.0-rc2"
diff --git a/python/desc/skycatalogs/objects/gaia_object.py b/python/desc/skycatalogs/objects/gaia_object.py
index 59610eed..5a5ffc5a 100644
--- a/python/desc/skycatalogs/objects/gaia_object.py
+++ b/python/desc/skycatalogs/objects/gaia_object.py
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 import sys
 import warnings
 import itertools
+from pathlib import PurePath
 import numpy as np
 import erfa
 import astropy.modeling
@@ -13,18 +14,23 @@
 from desc.skycatalogs.utils.shapes import Disk, PolygonalRegion
 from desc.skycatalogs.objects.base_object import BaseObject, ObjectCollection
 
+
 __all__ = ['GaiaObject', 'GaiaCollection']
 
+
+_FILE_PATH = str(PurePath(__file__))
+_SKYCATALOGS_DIR = _FILE_PATH[:_FILE_PATH.rindex('/python')]
+
+
 # Read in function for stellar temperature estimation given bp and rp
 # fluxes
-_TEMP_EST_DATA_FILE = os.path.join(os.environ['SKYCATALOGS_DIR'],
-                                   'data', 'gaia_dr2',
+_TEMP_EST_DATA_FILE = os.path.join(_SKYCATALOGS_DIR, 'data', 'gaia_dr2',
                                    'gaia_dr2_temp_from_bp-rp_ratio.txt')
 _TEMP_FUNC = galsim.LookupTable(*np.genfromtxt(_TEMP_EST_DATA_FILE))
 
 # Read in the Gaia DR2 passband for the bp flux to use for setting the
 # SED normalizations.
-_GAIA_PB_FILE = os.path.join(os.environ['SKYCATALOGS_DIR'], 'data', 'gaia_dr2',
+_GAIA_PB_FILE = os.path.join(_SKYCATALOGS_DIR, 'data', 'gaia_dr2',
                              'GaiaDR2_RevisedPassbands.dat')
 _GAIA_PBS = np.genfromtxt(_GAIA_PB_FILE, names=['wl', 'g', 'g_err', 'bp',
                                                 'bp_err', 'rp', 'rp_err'])