Astronomy - USA (2020-01)

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The dome of the 74-inch (1.9 m) ref lec-
tor — formerly one of Australia’s great
telescopes — still stands, though the tele-
scope inside is in ruins. (You can glimpse
its remains through the windows.) The
Yale-Columbia 26-inch (66 cm) refractor,
dating from 1925, fared even worse: Even
the dome was destroyed, leaving only
a circular foundation and part of the
concrete mount where the historic
instrument once stood.
Today, vital astronomical work is once

again carried out at Mount Stromlo.

Among other projects, its scientists are

designing and building instruments for

the Giant Magellan Telescope, scheduled

to open in Chile in 2025.

After a daytime tour of the site, we

returned in the evening to take photos.

As dusk fell, we were joined by dozens of

kangaroos, munching on the grass and

not seeming to mind a few human

intruders. When it got dark, I could no

longer see my marsupial friends — but

I could hear them hopping around me as

I set up my camera and tripod to take

time-exposure photographs. As evening

gave way to night, and Alpha and Beta

Centauri skimmed above the southern

horizon, I thought, “I could definitely get

used to this.”

Dan Falk (@danfalk) is a science journalist

based in Toronto. His books include The

Science of Shakespeare and In Search

of Time.

ABOVE: The fire that struck Mount Stromlo Observatory in 2003 destroyed

the Yale-Columbia 26-inch refractor and its dome.

LEFT: A kangaroo stands guard in front of the dome of the 74-inch telescope

at Mount Stromlo Observatory.

Darkness falls at the dome of the

74-inch reflector at Mount Stromlo

Observatory near Canberra. The

bright star to the left of the dome

is Rigil Kentaurus (Alpha [α]

Centauri). To its lower left is

Hadar (Beta [β] Cen).