Siding Spring Observatory
Siding Spring Observatory,
astronomical observatoryobservatory,scientific facility especially equipped to detect and record naturally occurring scientific phenomena. Although geological and meteorological observatories exist, the term is generally applied to astronomical observatories.
..... Click the link for more information. located on Siding Spring Mountain, near Coonabarabran, at an altitude of nearly 4,000 ft (1,220 m) in the Warrumbungle Mts. of New South Wales, Australia. It began as a field station for Mt. Stromlo ObservatoryMount Stromlo Observatory,
astronomical observatory located on Mt. Stromlo, near Canberra, Australia. Established in 1924 (14 years after the first telescope was erected there), it has been operated by the Australian National Univ. since 1957.
..... Click the link for more information. and is operated by the Australian National Univ. The principal instrument is a 153-in. (389-cm) reflecting telescope, which was jointly financed by the Australian and British governments. Other equipment includes 40-in. (102-cm) and 26-in. (66-cm) reflectors, a 48-in. (122-cm) Schmidt camera telescope similar to that at Palomar Observatory, and a 24-in. (61-cm) rotating telescope used for measuring the polarization of starlight.