Toner Stevenson, Manager Sydney Observatory, reports from Western Australia.

My recent visit to Perth included visiting the Observatory at Bickley. Not only was I treated to a fabulous lunch prepared by and shared with all the observatory staff, there was the opportunity to go behind the scenes with acting Director, Ralph Martin, astronomer Dr. Andrew Williams and education manager Greg Lowe.

 

On approach up the long driveway that separates Perth Observatory from Bickley’s suburban sprawl the first thing I noticed was the foundation stone dated 1896 in front of a clearly 1960s modernist building. This stone, laid by John Forrest, marks the first Perth Observatory building established in Kings Park, close to what is now the city.  Like Sydney Observatory during the late 1800s, the observatory was the colonial centre for astronomy, timekeeping, meteorology and surveying, covering the vast state of WA.  Over time these functions were mostly removed or reduced significantly, and in 1965 Perth Observatory was relocated to the suburb of Bickley, about 40 minutes outside Perth.  Fortunately more than the original foundation stone was relocated from the city site as I soon discovered.  Many significant items of a past era shared with Sydney Observatory have been carefully kept and some were still in use.  From the minute I stepped through the door I sensed the strong ties between Perth and Sydney Observatories re-connecting, it felt like catching up with a dear friend. 

The astronomer and meteorologist William Earnest Cooke was the first Western Australian Government astronomer (1896 to 1912) and in 1912 he accepted the Directorship of Sydney Observatory.  It was through Cooke’s initiatives that in 1900 Perth Observatory undertook work on the Astrographic Catalogue and Carte du Ciel.  Both Sydney and Melbourne observatories had already begun work on this ambitious international project to catalogue and chart the entire sky. Like Sydney, Perth Observatory has an active public day and night tour program , publishes an annual astronomy almanac and supports its heritage work through an adopt a star program, drawing on its own catalogue of stars also providing recipients the opportunity to view their star. 

Perth’s astrographic telescope by renowned Irish instrument maker Howard Grubb is in impressive working order and Greg Lowe showed me how this is demonstrated as part of the regular night tour.  Designed to photograph the stars, this telescope was the standard chosen for use by the British Observatories participating in the Astrographic Catalogue.  Sydney Observatory’s ‘star camera’, a unique telescope design by Henry Chamberlain Russell, had only the lens supplied by Grubb. But the Melbourne Astrographic telescope, moved to Sydney Observatory in 1948, appears almost identical to the one in Perth. These instruments are in the Castle-Hill store pending conservation. The original Perth Astrographic dome was removed from the 1896 building and relocated to Bickley. It is one of a number of telescope domes, some of which are made accessible to the public. This restored 1910 Calver (Newtonian) telescope can be compared to the view through the contemporary 40cm MEADE Schmidt Cassegrain.

 

 

This site is a living astronomy archive with a comprehensive astronomy library, extensive glass plate negative collection, heritage instruments and a complete set of Astrographic Catalogues.  An exhibition displays some of the treasures from their collection and is well worth a visit. At night you can experience the night sky from a relatively dark sky environment through telescopes. 

Perth Observatory is the only State-run Observatory still equipped and staffed for research and as such the public are also able to witness science in action.  High up on a 15metre tower is the primary research telescope and largest dome on the site. The Perth-Lowell automated telescope is operated remotely and has a sensor that closes the dome in wet weather. Ralph Martin spoke about the partnerships Perth Observatory has formed with Universities, major projects such as ICRAR (International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research)  and Perth Observatory’s gravitational micro-lensing work which has led to the discovery of smaller planets rotating around distant stars. You can take a virtual tour of the Perth-Lowell observatory without climbing all the stairs.  

I also visited the Old Perth Observatory, a grand residence for the Government Astronomer. With 2012 the centenary of W.E. Cooke’s departure from Perth to the Directorship of Sydney Observatory expect other blogs to follow throughout the year.