On our trek northward to Queensland, we started seeing planets on the sides of the road. Before long we discovered that there is a major observatory complex just outside of Coonabarabran. The Siding Spring Observatory sits high atop a rock dome and is really quite a beautiful setting. As part of the charge of the Trans-Australia Expedition is to collect scientific material, we made a detour on our route to visit the observatory.
The biggest telescope on site.
There were kangaroos munching on the bushes at the telescope’s base. These were the first live kangaroos our expedition saw. We momentarily considered collecting specimens but decided transporting them back to the institute might be difficult in our small SUV.
The red object is what the primary mirror was transported in to reach the site from its fabrication facility many thousands of miles away.
The telescope inside the dome.
The wind was incredibly powerful and cutting. There was ice all over the ground.
Another telescope.
