PERTH
OBSERVATORY The Perth Observatory is Western Australia’s oldest observatory which is located 35km east of Perth in Bickley. The Observatory has served WA for over 120 years and remains actively involved in the service of public education through Day Tours for schools and Night Sky Tours for the public. In recognition of its scientific, cultural and historical significance, the Observatory was entered on the state’s Heritage Register in 2005. We sat down with Matt Woods, one of the volunteers running the observitory to pick his brains about Perth’s out of this world history. Q: So what inspired your interest in astronomy? Matt: As a child I lived in Northam with my family and I remember my dad taking me outside to see the Columbia Space Shuttle re-enter the earth atmosphere. From that moment I knew I loved the stars. Q: The Perth Observatory has bee around for a long time. How many telescopes do you have? Matt: We have around 15 telescopes of various sizes but we have 8 domes, some of which can be remotely operated via the internet. Q: Perth Observatory has been involved in some pretty important discoveries, can you tell us a bit about one of your favourite ones? Matt: Yeah, back in the 1970’s we teamed up with NASA and the Keiper Airborne Observatory to observe uranus as it was the first time in modern history that it was going to pass over a particulalrly bright star. The data collected by NASA’s flying observatory (a tricked out ex-military jet) and the Perth Observatory both led to the joint discovery of Uranus having rings.
Q: In the hay day of the Observatory how did they capture data? Matt: Glass plates! We have over 30,000 glass plates that we are looking to digitise at some point but it all requires funding. To give you an idea to digitise 6000 of them into research grade data, would take up 33,000 Gigabytes of storge space. Q: For someone who is just starting out, what kind of telescope do you recommend? Matt: Dobsonian telescopes are great and if you manage to get one that is 10 inches or larger you can use any standard eyepeice with them. A good pair of binoculars would go astary either as you can you them to quickly scout object and to look at through your telescope. Q: So is there still real research happening at the Perth Observatory? Matt: At the moment their is some but we are working towards some big things but like with everything science it is all predicated on funding. KEY DISCOVERIES FROM PERTH - co-discovered Uranus’s ring system - was part of the NASA International Planetary Patrol - our Automated Supernova Search has discovered 30 supernovae - discovered 29 Minor Planets between 1970 and 1999 - helped discover the super-earth exoplanet OGLE2005-BLG-390lb HOW CAN YOU HELP? https://www.perthobservatory.com.au/donations Image Copyright: Andrew Lockwood (Perth Observatory Volunteer)
