The Greenhill Observatory is an astronomical observatory operated by the
University of Tasmania
The University of Tasmania (UTAS) is a public research university, primarily located in Tasmania, Australia. Founded in 1890, it is Australia's fourth oldest university. Christ College, one of the university's residential colleges, first prop ...
(UTAS)
on Bisdee Tier, near Spring Hill, Tasmania. The observatory is located roughly 50 km (30 miles) north of
Hobart, (
Australia). The nearest municipality is the village of
Jericho. The observatory was officially opened by the Governor of Tasmania in February, 2013. The facility is named in honour of longtime University of Tasmania astrophysicist Dr John G. Greenhill (1933-2014).
Telescopes
The site replaces the University of Tasmania's previous observatory at
Canopus Hill
Canopus Hill is located on the island of East Falkland near Stanley, the capital city of the Falkland Islands
The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. ...
, near Hobart. The site was developed with the installation of a 1.3 m telescope in mind, and consideration given for possible future expansion. One telescope is currently hosted, the Harlingten Telescope (H127).
* The H127 is a diameter reflector of modified Ritchey-Chrétien design, on an equatorial fork mount. The H127 has a rotating tertiary mirror and wide-field corrector lenses installed at two folded Cassegrain (Nasmyth) focal stations, allowing rapid switching between instruments. The H127 was donated to the University of Tasmania by Mr Caisey Harlingten.
* In January 2023, a antenna with bi-static radar capability was unveiled. It will be used to locate satellites and space debris.
See also
*
Mount Pleasant Radio Observatory
The Mount Pleasant Radio Observatory is a radio astronomy based observatory owned and operated by University of Tasmania, located 20 km east of Hobart in Cambridge, Tasmania. It is home to three radio astronomy antennas and the Grote Reb ...
*
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
Mathematics and Physicsat the University of Tasmania
Astronomy at UTAS
Greenhill ObservatoryFacebook page
{{Portal bar, Australia, Astronomy, Stars, Spaceflight, Outer space, Solar System, Education, Science
Astronomical observatories in Tasmania
University of Tasmania