Australian-Geographic-Magazine-September-Octobe..

H

ALF A CENTURY ago, Australian

astronomy was a very dierent

endeavour from that of today.

With the recent completion of the

Parkes Radio Telescope (1961), radio

astronomy was in the ascendancy

and optical (visible light) astronomy

was mostly limited to the Australian

National University’s (ANU) facilities at

Mount Stromlo in Canberra.

The observing conditions in Canberra

were less than ideal, however, due to the

gradual spread of the suburbs and light

pollution. An ANU outstation at Mt

Bingar, in the Riverina region of central

NSW, had a small telescope used by

Professor Bart Bok, director of Stromlo

Observatory. And when Bart initiated

the quest for a permanent dark-sky site in

the early 1960s, he favoured Mt Bingar.

However, extensive site-testing revealed

that Siding Spring Mountain in the

Warrumbungle Range, north-western

NSW, boasted observing conditions at

least as good as Bingar, and a nearby

town – Coonabarabran – could provide

infrastructure and homes for sta.

Thus it was that Siding Spring

became Mount Stromlo’s dark-sky site,

and, eventually, Australia’s national

optical observatory. The first telescope

stationed there, the ANU 1-metre, was

opened in February 1964, and was used

by Bart and his wife Priscilla in their

landmark studies of the Milky Way.

Other smaller telescopes followed,

but when the Australian and British

governments decided to build a giant

instrument in the 4m class, Siding

Spring was the favoured site. This 3.9m

Anglo-Australian Telescope (AAT) was

inaugurated by Prince Charles on

16 October 1974, and is still in operation.

The AAT is now operated by the

Australian Astronomical Observatory,

which is also responsible for the

1.2m UK Schmidt Telescope. Other

facilities on the site include the ANU’s

‘SkyMapper’ telescopes, which are

mapping the entire southern sky, and the

2m Faulkes Telescope South. They will

be open to visitors on 3–5 October 2014

for ‘StarFest’ weekend to celebrate the

50th anniversary of the site. Visit the

http://www.starfest.org.au site for details.

FRED WATSON is astronomer-in-charge

at the Australian Astronomical Observatory. UWE STIEN

S

What is ‘nothing’? If there is no

matter or anti-matter, or any

form of electronic activity, is it

existence or non-existence? 

Mohammed, via email

A recent debate among leading

philosophers and physicists at

the American Museum of Natural

History concluded that ‘noth-

ing’ might always turn out to be

‘something’ as new discoveries

are made. In particular, an empty

universe without matter or energy

can’t be ‘nothing’, since the laws

of physics still apply.

If you have a space question for Fred,

email it to [email protected]

Fred answers

your questions

NAKED EYE The constel-

lation of Cygnus the

Swan, looking more like a large

inverted crucifix, lies low in the

north. Aquila the Eagle is directly

above. The Milky Way flows

through these constellations before

disappearing over the horizon.

BINOCULARS Look for

two interesting asterisms,

each consisting of four 4th-

magnitude stars. Delphinus has

‘Job’s Coffin’ shaped like a diamond

on its side. The other is Aquarius’

Water Jug with a central star

surrounded by three in a triangle.

SMALL TELESCOPE

Cygnus is home to a

brilliant double star, Albireo (Beta

Cygni). Looking north it forms the

top star of the cross. It’s famous for

its colour contrast, the brighter

component being a rich yellow.

Glenn Dawes is a co-author

of Astronomy Australia 2014

(Quasar Publishing).

Glenn Dawes

looking up

SPACE

x10

x1

x100

Siding Spring’s

observatory is home

to Australia’s largest

telescope.

Fifty years young

This year marks the 50th birthday of

Siding Spring Observatory, Australia’s

biggest astronomy centre for research.

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