Siding Spring Observatory

8/10/2019 Siding Spring Observatory

1/5

Siding Spring Observatory

Siding Spring Mountain with Anglo-Australian

Telescope dome visible near centre of image.

Organization Research School of Astronomy

& Astrophysics at the

Australian National University

Code 413

Location Siding Spring Mountain/Mount

Woorat, near Coonabarabran,

New South Wales, Australia

Coordinates 311624S 1490352E

Altitude 1,165 m (3,822 ft)

TelescopesAnglo-Australian

Telescope

3.9 m equatorial

mount

UK Schmidt

Telescope

1.24 m Schmidt

camera

Faulkes Telescope

South

2 m Ritchey-Chrtien

telescope

Siding Spring 2.3 m

Telescope

2.3m Advanced

Technology

Telescope

SkyMapper 1.35 m wide-angle

optical telescope

HAT-South telescope wide-field telescope

Solaris Telescope 20 inch Ritchey

Chrtien telescope

Uppsala Southern

Schmidt TelescopeSchmidt Telescope

Automated Patrol

Telescope

wide-field CCD

imaging telescope

iTelescope.Net

Observatory

Remote Public

Telescopes

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Siding Spring Observatorynear Coonabarabran, New

South Wales, Australia, part of the Research School of

Astronomy & Astrophysics (RSAA) at the Australian

National University (ANU), incorporates the Anglo-

Australian Telescope along with a collection of other

telescopes owned by the Australian National University, the

University of New South Wales, and other institutions. The

observatory is situated 1,165 metres (3,822 ft) above sea

level in the Warrumbungle National Park on Mount Woorat,

also known as Siding Spring Mountain. Siding Spring

Observatory is owned by the Australian National University

(ANU) and is part of the Mount Stromlo and Siding Spring

Observatories research school.

More than $100 million worth of research equipment islocated at the observatory.[1]There are 12 telescopes on site.

1 History

1.1 2013 Bushfire

2 Visitors

3 Telescopes

4 Observing programs

5 Notable discoveries

6 See also

7 References

8 External links

The original Mount Stromlo Observatory was set up by the

Commonwealth Government in 1924. After duty supplying

optical components to the military in World War II, the

emphasis on astronomical research changed in the late 1940s

from solar to stellar research. Between 1953 and 1974, the

74-inch (1.9 m) reflecting telescope at Mount Stromlo was

the largest optical telescope in Australia.

Already in the 1950s, the artificial lights of Canberra, ACT,

had brightened the sky at Mount Stromlo to such an extent that many faint astronomical objects had been

overwhelmed by light pollution. The search for a new site was initiated by Bart Bok. After a site survey was

undertaken the number of possible locations was narrowed down to two Siding Spring and Mount Bingar

Coordinates: 311624S 1490352E

ng Spring Observatory - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siding_Spring_Observatory

5 10/28/2014 2:39 PM


2/5

near Griffith, also in New South Wales.[2]Siding Spring was first suggested for astronomy by Harley Wood,

the New South Wales Government Astronomer at the time. Arthur Hogg did much of the preliminary site

testing.

The Siding Spring site was selected by the ANU in 1962 from many other possible locations because of the

dark and cloud-free skies. By the mid-1960s the ANU had set up three telescopes, together with supporting

facilities, such as sealed roads, staff accommodation, electricity and water. In 1984, the Prime Minister, Bob

Hawke, opened the ANU's largest telescope, the low-cost and innovative 2.3 m aperture telescope, housed ina simple, co-rotating cuboid dome.

Since the 1950s, and quite independently of developments at Siding Spring, the Australian and British

governments had been negotiating about the construction of a very large telescope. When these negotiations

finally came to fruition in 1969, the infrastructure of Siding Spring Observatory was already in place, and it

was the obvious site at which to locate the 4-metre aperture Anglo-Australian Telescope (AAT).

During the construction of the AAT in the early 1970s, the British Science Research Council also built the

UK Schmidt Telescope, 1 km to the NE of the AAT dome. The considerably wider field of view of the

Schmidt optical design complements the narrower field of the AAT, in that larger areas of sky may be

surveyed more quickly. Interesting objects so discovered are then studied in greater detail on the largerinstrument. In 1987, the Schmidt Telescope was amalgamated with the AAT.

Siding Spring Observatory also houses telescopes from Korea, Las Cumbres Global Telescope Network and

the University of New South Wales. In 1990, the earth-satellite tracking facility of the Royal Greenwich

Observatory was closed down after 10 years of operation. In 2012 the first publicly accessible Internet based

observatory, working in partnership with the RSAA, was commissioned by iTelescope.Netwith multiple

telescopes housed in a large roll-off roof (ROR) observatory near the base of the UK Schmidt Telescope.

2013 Bushfire

On 13 January 2013 the facility was threatened by a huge bushfire and firestorm. Eighteen staff were

evacuated to Coonabarabran. Three buildings were destroyed: 'The Lodge' accommodation used by visiting

researchers, the Director's Cottage and the Fire Station.[3][4]Bushfire prevention measures had been

implemented and were credited with the protection of the telescopes.[1]Though smoke, ash and other

air-borne debris entered some domes, all telescopes appear to have survived the inferno. The first telescopes

back in action were those of the iTelescope Remote Observatory on January 20. The Anglo-Australian

Telescope resumed normal operations in mid-February 2013.[5]

There is a visitors' gallery and exhibition area open to the public which also incorporates a cafe and souvenir

shop. During NSW school holidays, guided tours of the site are offered. Groups of over 15 adults may apply

for Behind the Scenes walking or bus tours.

An Open Day is held annually in October, where visitors may meet astronomers and tour inside a number of

the telescopes which are open to the public on this one day of the year.

3.9 m Anglo-Australian Telescope (AAO), operational in 1975

1.24 m UK Schmidt Telescope (AAO)

2.0 m Faulkes Telescope South (LCOGT)


5 10/28/2014 2:39 PM


3/5

Location in New South Wales

The SkyMapper telescope and the

Advanced Technology Telescope in the

background

two 1.0 m telescopes LCOGT

1.3 m SkyMapper Telescope (ANU), when launched in

2009 was the first new optical, research grade telescope in

Australia since 1984.[6]

2.3 m Advanced Technology Telescope (ANU), was built in

1984

Multiple - iTelescope.Net (iTelescope Network), Internet

connected remote telescopes for the Public. Built 2013

4 x 0.4 m" Telescopes PROMPT Telescopes (The

University of North Carolina), Built 2013

HAT-South Telescope Network (ANU, CfA, MPIA)

SOLARIS Telescope (Nicolas Copernicus Astronomical Centre

- Poland. Built 2012)

0.5 m Uppsala Southern Schmidt Telescope (ANU decommissioned 2013)

0.5 m Automated Patrol Telescope (UNSW decommissioned

2012)

0.45 m ROTSE IIIa, Robotic Optical Transit Search

Experiment (UNSW - decommissioned 2011)

Korean YSTAR Telescope (Korean Southern Observatory)

40 inch Telescope (ANU), was first commissioned in 1963

currently decommissioned and moved to Millroy Observatory for use by amateurs.[7]

24 inch Telescope (ANU decommissioned)

16 inch Telescope (ANU decommissioned)

The Anglo-Australian Near-Earth Asteroid Survey used the UK Schmidt Telescope between 1990 and

1996.[8]The same telescope was later dedicated for use by the RAVE survey of the Milky Way. The

Near-Earth object search program called Siding Spring Survey uses the Uppsala Southern Schmidt Telescope.

The 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey, one of the largest survey of galaxies ever undertaken used the Anglo-

Australian Telescope between 1995 and 2002.[9]

In 1977, the Vela Pulsar was discovered at Siding Spring. Comet 103P/Hartley was discovered by Malcolm

Hartley in 1986.[10]On 8 August 2006 C/2006 P1 was discovered by Robert H. McNaught using the Uppsala

Southern Schmidt Telescope.[11]On 3 January 2013 C/2013 A1, which will pass extremely close to Mars on

19 October 2014 at 18:28 0:01 UTC, was discovered by Robert H. McNaught using the 0.5-meter (20 in)

Uppsala Southern Schmidt Telescope.[12]

Siding SpringObservatory


5 10/28/2014 2:39 PM


4/5

Australian Astronomical Observatory (AAO), formerly the Anglo-Australian Observatory

Comet Siding Spring

^ ab"Bushfire hits Australias largest observatory"

(http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/journal

/bushfire-damage-at-australias-largest-

observatory.htm).Australian Geographic. 14

January 2013. Retrieved 21 January 2013.

1.

^Haynes, Raymond; Roslynn D. Haynes; David

Malin; Richard McGee (1996).Explorers of the

Southern Sky: A History of Australian Astronomy

(http://books.google.com.au

/books?id=XoeiJxMmXZ8C). 0521365759. p. 175.

Retrieved 20 January 2013.

2.

^Lewis, Rosie; Edwards, Harry (14 January 2013).

"Siding Spring Observatory survives raging

bushfire" (http://www.theaustralian.com.au/in-depth

/bushfires/furious-bushfire-strikes-siding-spring-

observatory/story-fngw0i02-1226553143005). The

Australian. Retrieved 14 January 2013. "key

scientific facilities at Siding Spring, in northern

NSW, look to have escaped major damage from the

blaze"

3.

^"Fire risk Information for ANU staff and

students" (http://news.anu.edu.au/2013/01/08/fire-

risk-information-for-anu-staff-and-students/).

Australian National University. 15 January 2013.

Retrieved 15 January 2013.

4.

^"Siding Spring Observatory reopens"(http://news.anu.edu.au/2013/04/08/siding-spring-

observatory-reopens/). ANU. 8 April 2013.

Retrieved 22 October 2013.

5.

^"SkyMapper to chart southern sky"

(http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/national

/5802527/skymapper-to-chart-southern-sky/). The

West Australian(West Australian Newspapers). 25

May 2009. Retrieved 21 January 2013.

6.

^"Observations in Coonabarabran"

(http://www.abc.net.au/local/photos/2012/04

/05/3471832.htm?site=westernplains).ABC

Western Plains(Australian Broadcasting

Corporation). 5 April 2012. Retrieved 21 January

2013.

7.

^Dymock, Roger (2010).Asteroids and Dwarf

Planets and How to Observe Them

(http://books.google.com.au

/books?id=vQcAnwt_87sC). Springer. p. 81.

ISBN 1441964398. Retrieved 20 January 2013.

8.

^"Galaxy Survey Reveals Missing Cosmic Link"

(http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/01

/050111181818.htm). ScienceDaily(ScienceDaily

LLC). 12 January 2005. Retrieved 20 January

2013.

9.

^Klaus Schmidt (3 November 2010). "The Man

Behind Comet Hartley 2"

(http://spacefellowship.com/news/art23569

/the-man-behind-comet-hartley-2.html). The

International Space Fellowship. Retrieved 21

January 2013.

10.

^Joe Rao (12 January 2007). "The Great Comet

of 2007: Watch it on the Web"

(http://www.space.com/3348-great-comet-

2007-watch-web.html). Space.com.TechMediaNetwork.com. Retrieved 20 January

2013.

11.

^"MPEC 2013-A14 : COMET C/2013 A1

(SIDING SPRING)"

(http://www.minorplanetcenter.net/mpec/K13

/K13A14.html). IAU Minor Planet Center. 5

January 2013. Archived (https://web.archive.org

/web/20130301024411/http:

//www.minorplanetcenter.net/mpec/K13

/K13A14.html) from the original on 1 March 2013.

(CK13A010)

12.


5 10/28/2014 2:39 PM


5/5

Official home page (http://rsaa.anu.edu.au/observatories/siding-spring-observatory)

Anglo-Australian Observatory (http://www.aao.gov.au/)

Uppsala Southern Sky NEO Survey Telescope (http://msowww.anu.edu.au/~rmn/)

Faulkes Telescope South (http://lcogt.net/telescopes/fts)

iTelescope.Net Observatory (http://www.itelescope.net/)

PROMPT Telescopes (http://skynet.unc.edu/introastro/ourtelescopes/)

SkyMapper Telescope (http://www.mso.anu.edu.au/skymapper/)

ROTSE III Project (http://www.rotse.net)

UNSW Automated Patrol Telescope (APT) (http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/~mcba/apt.html)

2.3 m Advanced Technology Telescope (http://www.mso.anu.edu.au/observing/telescopes/2.3m.php)

ANU 40-inch (1,000 mm) Telescope (http://www.mso.anu.edu.au/observing/telescopes/40inch.php)

2013 Bushfire

Astronomers' Blog with 2013 fire coverage and photos (http://amandabauer.blogspot.com.au/2013/01

/siding-spring-observatory-fires.html?showComment=1358132045780)

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Siding_Spring_Observatory&oldid=630286318"

Categories: Australian National University 1924 establishments in Australia Siding Spring Observatory

This page was last modified on 19 October 2014 at 21:00.Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms mayapply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia is a registeredtrademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.


Documents

Siding Spring Observatory