The Heights Observatory is an
Astronomical Observatory
An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial, marine, or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geophysical, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed. His ...
at
The Heights School in
Modbury Heights
Modbury Heights is a medium-sized suburb in the City of Tea Tree Gully, Adelaide. The suburb is located in the foothills of the Mount Lofty Ranges around 16 kilometres north east of the Central business district. Much of the suburb is residential ...
,
Adelaide
Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
,
South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...
.
It is sometimes known as the Adelaide Observatory, but it is not to be confused with the observatory formerly established at the University of Adelaide.
History
The Observatory consists of two buildings. In 1988–89, the Emanuel Papaelia Observatory (opened Nov'89) was built containing a 1963 vintage 12" Dall-Kirkham Cassegrain reflecting telescope belonging to the Astronomical Society of South Australia (ASSA), and originally housed at
Marryatville High School
Marryatville High School (MHS) is a public state secondary school in Adelaide, South Australia. The school is situated on a large area of land in the eastern suburb of Marryatville, part of the City of Norwood Payneham and St Peters. First Cree ...
. In 1996, a second building with a roll off roof (the Ingham Family Rooms) was constructed. This contained a second hand 10"
Meade LX-200
Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope.
In August 2011, the 10" Meade in the Inghams building was replaced by a 14" Meade LX-200 GPS-ACF. This was purchased with a grant from the Education Minister (Jay Weatherill), topped up with fund raising money from the STAR Group.
The observatory also houses a portable 10" Dobsonian, a 90mm computerised SkyWatcher refractor and two Coronado solar telescopes.
In April 2012, the Heights School purchased a research-grade, 12.5" space-certified Ritchey–Chrétien built by Optical Guidance Systems. That replaced the 14" LX200 in the roll off roof building, and in July 2012 the 14" LX200 was installed in the Dome, in place of the old ASSA 12" Dall-Kirkham, which was moved to ASSA's Stockport Observatory for storage.
Current Activities
A group of students known as the STAR Group learns astronomy at an advanced level, both in theory and practice.
Students are actively involved with the observatory. In 2011, a Yr 12 Student used the original 10" LX200 and an 8bit DMK camera to detect the transit of an Exo-planet as his SACE Research Project.
Bimonthly, on the Friday night nearest the First Quarter Moon, the
Astronomical Society of South Australia
The Astronomical Society of South Australia (ASSA) was founded in 1892 and is the oldest society of its kind in Australia. It is the only representative body for amateur astronomy in the state of South Australia.
It holds regular general monthly me ...
holds a public viewing night at the observatory, where members of the general public can visit the observatory to view the night sky through the observatory's telescopes and telescopes brought in by members of ASSA. Members of STAR Group demonstrate real time imaging on their Research Grade OGS telescope, and show the Public through the 14" LX200 in the Dome and the portable scopes.
See also
*
List of astronomical observatories
This is a list of astronomical observatories ordered by name, along with initial dates of operation (where an accurate date is available) and location. The list also includes a final year of operation for many observatories that are no longer in ...
References
External links
* http://www.assa.org.au/facilities/theheights/
* http://www.theheights.sa.edu.au/observatory.html
* http://www.adelaideobservatory.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heights Observatory
Buildings and structures in Adelaide
Education in Adelaide
Astronomical observatories in South Australia
1989 establishments in Australia