Mount Stromlo and Siding Spring Observatories

Mount Stromlo and Siding Spring Observatories

      pair of astronomical observatories in southeast Australia that are operated by the Australian National University and that together constitute the most important facilities for such observation in the Southern Hemisphere.

      Mount Stromlo Observatory is situated at an elevation of 768 metres (2,520 feet) on Mount Stromlo, 10 km (6 miles) west of Canberra. It was founded in 1924 as a centre for solar studies but shifted its emphasis in the 1940s to stellar astronomy. Its main telescope is a 1.9-metre (74-inch) reflector. The Mount Stromlo Observatory's viewing capability was threatened in the 1950s by the lights of the growing city of Canberra, and so a new site was established at an elevation of 1,165 metres (3,822 feet) on Siding Spring Mountain, about 31 km (19 miles) from Coonabarabran, New South Wales. On Jan. 18, 2003, a bushfire destroyed all five telescopes at Mount Stromlo. Rebuilding of some of the facilities began shortly thereafter.

      The Siding Spring Observatory was originally a field station for the Mount Stromlo site, but it has become in itself one of the most important optical observatories in the world. Its main telescope is the Anglo-Australian Telescope, which was jointly built by Australia and Great Britain and has been operated by them since 1975. The instrument is a 3.9-metre (153-inch) reflector that has notably distortion-free optics and an extremely precise computer-controlled system for pinpointing and tracking celestial objects. The telescope is most useful for viewing distant cosmic objects of extremely faint luminosity. The Siding Spring Observatory also has the 2.3-metre (91-inch) Advanced Technology Telescope, which was built in 1984 and was designed to use new telescope technology. There are six other telescopes at Siding Spring, including the 1.2-metre (48-inch) Schmidt telescope, which is owned and operated by the United Kingdom Science Research Council. It has been used to extend the sky survey conducted by its sister instrument, the 1.2-metre (48-inch) Schmidt telescope at the Palomar Observatory, to the southern skies.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Siding Spring Observatory — Infobox Observatory name = Siding Spring Observatory caption = The Anglo Australian Telescope at Siding Spring Observatory organization = Research School of Astronomy Astrophysics at the Australian National University code = 413 location = Siding …   Wikipedia

  • Mount Stromlo Observatory — Remains of the old administration building with the dome of the Farnham telescope R …   Wikipedia

  • Mathematics and Physical Sciences — ▪ 2003 Introduction Mathematics       Mathematics in 2002 was marked by two discoveries in number theory. The first may have practical implications; the second satisfied a 150 year old curiosity.       Computer scientist Manindra Agrawal of the… …   Universalium

  • Some important ground-based optical telescopes — ▪ Table Some important ground based optical telescopes name aperture (metres) type observatory location date observations began Gran Telescopio Canarias 10.4 reflector Roque de los Muchachos Observatory La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain 2007 Keck I …   Universalium

  • List of astronomy acronyms — This is a compilation of acronyms commonly used in astronomy. Most of the acronyms are drawn from professional astronomy and are used quite frequently in scientific publications. However, a few of these acronyms are frequently used by the general …   Wikipedia

  • IAU codes — Ein Sternwarten Code wird je Sternwarte beziehungsweise Weltraumteleskop vom Minor Planet Center vergeben – einem Dienst der Internationalen Astronomischen Union – um astrometrische Beobachtungen von Kleinkörpern im Sonnensystem zu katalogisieren …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • List of observatory codes — Astronomical observatories are locations used for observing celestial events. Observatory codes are assigned by the Minor Planet Center (a service of the International Astronomical Union) for use in cataloguing astrometric observations of solar… …   Wikipedia

  • Liste der Sternwarten-Codes — Ein Sternwarten Code wird je Sternwarte beziehungsweise Weltraumteleskop vom Minor Planet Center vergeben – einem Dienst der Internationalen Astronomischen Union – um astrometrische Beobachtungen von Kleinkörpern im Sonnensystem zu… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Liste Des Observatoires Astronomiques — Légende Observatoire au sol Radiotélescope Télescope solaire Télescope spatial Observatoire de rayons cosmiques Observatoire de neutrinos …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Liste des observatoires astronomiques — Légende Observatoire au sol Radiotélescope Télescope solaire Télescope spatial Observatoire de rayons cosmiques Observatoire de neutrinos …   Wikipédia en Français

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”