List of telescopes of Australia

Siding Spring observatory in the distance
SkyMapper telescope inside its dome enclosure
A bushfire destroyed this old telescope in 2003.

The list below is split between telescopes located in Australia, and telescopes sponsored by Australia such as a space telescope or foreign installation.

Australia can access the Southern skies, which was a popular trend in the 20th century (many telescope had been built for the northern hemisphere). The third largest optical telescope in the world in 1974 was Anglo-Australian Telescope, one of the really large telescopes of that time and built in Australia. There are several radio telescopes also, and Sydney Observatory has taken observations for over a century.

One of the largest telescopes of the 19th century was the Great Melbourne Telescope, one of the last big metal mirror reflecting telescopes before the silver-on-glass designs came to predominate; this was purchased with money from an Australian Gold boom.

In country optical telescopes

  • Anglo-Australian Telescope (3.9m, 1974-)
  • Automated Patrol Telescope (.5m, 1989-2008)
  • Faulkes Telescope South (2m, 2004-)
  • SkyMapper (1.35m)
  • UTas H127 (1.27m)
  • Great Melbourne Telescope (48 inches/ ~1.22m, 1868)
  • Siding Spring 2.3 m Telescope (2.3 m)
  • Sydney Observatory instruments
  • Mt. Kent Observatory - Shared Skies (0.7 m)
  • Penrith Observatory (0.6m)
  • Perth-Lowell Telescope (0.6m)
  • Mt. Kent Observatory - Shared Skies (0.5m)
  • Uppsala Southern Schmidt Telescope (0.5m)

Radio telescopes

See also

External links

  • 10 of the best Australian observatories
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