5 December 2011

Under the dome. Images of Canberra

5 December 2011 | By johnboy

Martin was up at the old observatory over the weekend for the Stromlo open day and took this stunning picture of the burnt out dome.

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Deref3:22 pm 05 Dec 11

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Brilliant photo!!!

Tragic subject though.

creative_canberran3:06 pm 05 Dec 11

Great photo, though not a great sight. Sad to see such a beautiful piece of hardware in ruins.

ANU has some more shots taken 6 days after the fire by Kim Rawlings, they had commissioned some new hardware for the 74″ just a week before it was destroyed: http://msowww.anu.edu.au/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=3808

And back in 1958 when the 74 was Australia’s largest telescope: http://msowww.anu.edu.au/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=3362

As for the future of Mt Stromlo, there’s been little said recently. The impression I get is that while Stromlo will continue to be a base for ANU employees and technical development, much of the focus on observation hardware is now at Siding Springs, with remote control envisaged from Stromlo. There’s talk recently about reconstructing a replica of the Odie Dome too so that has potential. But with the new suburbs of Molonglo going in, Mt Stromlo isn’t exactly the Atacama Desert, and provide more disincentive to invest in oberservation hardware.

Gungahlin Al12:49 pm 05 Dec 11

Vastly better photo then mine…

Such a sad sight.

I’d love to see at least one large scope rebuilt on Stromlo for public/amateur use. I’ve joined the Astronomical Society and they have a 14″ scope, which is pretty good.