In January 2003 our National Observatory at Mount Stromlo was decimated by an incredibly powerful bushfire that also killed four people and destroyed 500 residences of Canberra, the national Capital.

At Mount Stromlo, not only were its 5 telescopes utterly destroyed along with the buildings and workshops that housed a newly complete spectrograph ready to be sent to Hawaii, but the unique library with its  historic texts. It was a national and scientific calamity.

There has been little that has appeared in the news about the ramifications of the fire in the few years since this event that depressed all scientists and those who understood the magnitude of the tragedy that had occurred.

But now we hear positive news of a revival of efforts and teamwork of those engaged in the current projects under Stromlo’s Director, Professor Harvey Butcher and Professor Brian Schmidt, the first astronomer to claim that the universe expansion is accelerating. Schmidt is now developing SkyMapper, the telescope that is capable of reviewing and making a detailed survey of the Southern Hemisphere.

The fastest and most precise survey telescope ever built has the potential to provide an enormous wealth of new data to be shared by the world. It will function over distances impossible for us to imagine, and produce information about the constituents of  stars in galaxies so remote we have not yet been able to name them. SkyMapper will liaise with the Giant Magellan Telescope in Chile.

The new project is a  reminder of the legendary Phoenix arising from the ashes as our valiant astronomers move forward with new zest and aim to  reveal to us more of the light and truth of the heavens.

Tags: Astronomy, giant telescopes, new career opportunities, new discoveries, radiotelescopes, science courses

Filed under: Astronomy by admin