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Mount Stromlo Observatory located just outside of Canberra, Australia, is part of the Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the Australian National University (ANU). ==History== 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. The dome built to house the Oddie telescope was the first Commonwealth building constructed in the newly established Australian Capital Territory. In 1911 a delegation for an Australian Solar Observatory went to London seeking Commonwealth assistance. The League of the Empire sought subscriptions to assist raising funds.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=eh5VAAAAIBAJ&sjid=upIDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5870,6603462&dq=the+commonwealth+solar+observatory&hl=en )〕 Survey work to determine the site's suitability had begun as soon as the idea of a new Capital was established. By 1909 the Australian Association for the Advancement of Science was assisted in this effort by Hugh Mahon (Minister for Home Affairs).〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=prhVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=f6oDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4450,6658437&dq=the+commonwealth+solar+observatory&hl=en )〕 Until World War II, the observatory specialised in solar and atmospheric observations. During the war the workshops contributed to the war effort by producing gun sights, and other optical equipment. After the war, the observatory shifted direction to stellar and galactic astronomy and was renamed The Commonwealth Observatory. Dr R. Wooley Director of the Observatory, worked to gain support for a larger reflector, arguing that the southern hemisphere should attempt to compete with the effectiveness of American telescopes.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=fwNVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=25MDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5601,3366625&dq=the+commonwealth+solar+observatory&hl=en )〕 The ANU was established in 1946 in nearby Canberra and joint staff appointments and graduate studies were almost immediately undertaken. A formal amalgamation took place in 1957, with Mount Stromlo Observatory becoming part of the ANU. On 18 January 2003, the devastating Canberra firestorm hit Mount Stromlo (which was surrounded by a plantation pine forest), destroying five telescopes, workshops, seven homes, and the heritage-listed administration building.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/scitech/SciTechRepublish_765799.htm )〕 The only telescope to escape the fires was the 1886 15-centimetre Farnham telescope. Relics from the fire are preserved in the collection of the National Museum of Australia. They include a melted telescope mirror and a piece of melted optical glass (flint). The latter has pieces of charcoal and wire fused into it from the fierce heat of the fire. Redevelopment is completed and the Observatory is now a major partner in the construction of the Giant Magellan Telescope. The current observatory director is Matthew Colless.〔http://rsaa.anu.edu.au/contact-us〕 The director's residence, destroyed in the 2003 fire, was rebuilt and opened to the public as a memorial in 2015. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「Mount Stromlo Observatory」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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