- Address: Watson Rd, Millers Point NSW 2000, Australia;
- Website: maas.museum;
- Phone: +61 2 9921 3485;
- Working hours: daily from 10 to 17 hours
The Sydney Observatory is located in the heart of Sydney on a hill. Today it serves as the national astronomical museum, the largest among its kind in Australia . In addition, the building of the observatory is one of the oldest, since it was built in 1858 and today retained its original appearance.
What to see?
The history of the observatory is amazing because at the end of the 18th century a windmill stood in its place, which did not justify its hopes and eventually was abandoned, so the locals quickly steal the mill and left only the walls. In 1803, Fort Philip was founded on this site. This was done in order to protect the nearby territory from the attack of the French. In 1825 the wall of the fort was converted into a signal station. From it signals were sent to the ships in the harbor.
The observatory that we can see today was opened in 1858 and built on the basis of a fort. She had to perform important functions, so the main astronomer was appointed two years before its discovery, it was William Scott. The architecture of the building is quite complicated, since there should have been several rooms: a room for calculations, a living room for an astronomer, a room with narrow windows for observation through a transit telescope. Twenty years after the observatory's opening, the western wing was completed, where a library was made, and another dome allowed to install a second telescope for astronomical discoveries.
Today, the main task of the observatory museum is to make astronomy accessible and popular. Visiting the Sydney Observatory, you have the opportunity to see the library and room for the astronomer. Also in the museum you can find out how astronomy developed in Australia. So in the ancient observatory there is a unique telescope, made back in 1874. It has a 29-centimeter lens and such a telescope is in fact a huge rarity. Next to the rarity is a modern alpha-hydrogen telescope, whose purpose is to observe the sun. Every visitor of the museum has the opportunity to compare the level of astronomy today and a century and a half ago.
Also at the museum there is a shop for thematic gifts and a planetarium under a large dome. Those interested can attend lectures on astronomy, which will sound especially interesting in the walls of the old observatory.
Where is?
The Sydney Observatory is located near the Harbor Bridge, which can be reached from anywhere in the city. Next to the observatory is the Argyle Pl at Lower Fort St stop where Route No. 311 stops. In the block from the sight of bus stop number 324 and number 325.
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