365 Places: Mount Stromlo

Day 79: Mount Stromlo Observatory, Canberra, ACT, Australia

Today we went to one of my favourite places for a weekend drive on a winter day: Mount Stromlo. When there is snow up on the Brindabella Ranges, it is a beautiful place to see the snow on the mountains. Although there was no snow (despite the cold weather of late), it was a lovely afternoon for taking some photos.

The Mount Stromlo Observatory located just outside of Canberra, is part of the Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the Australian National University (ANU).

A bit of background from Mr Wikipedia:

The observatory was established in 1924 as The Commonwealth Solar Observatory. The Mount Stromlo site had already been used for observations in the previous decade, a small observatory being established there by Pietro Baracchi using the Oddie telescope being located there in 1911.

When we first moved to Canberra in 2001, it was a place of wonderment and we had a great day exploring all the telescopes dotted on top of the mountain.

On 18 January 2003, a devastating firestorm hit Canberra and Mount Stromlo (which was surrounded by a plantation pine forest) endured significant damage. The fire destroyed five telescopes, workshops, seven homes, and the heritage-listed administration building.

I have pulled together a little photo essay to present this lovely place, complete with photographs of ruins and some of the existing telescopes.