Bonzle Collections - Cycling

Fire Ruins of the 9" Oddie Refractor - Mount Stromlo Observatory

contributed by Ausgirl, taken on 3 October 2010
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This telescope was the first on Mt Stromlo. Built by Grubb of Dublin in 1888 and installed on Mt Stromlo in 1911.
The first stellar research program of the observatory began in 1926, to photograph and classify the spectra of southern stars.
During the 1940s the Oddie was used to measure the orbits of binary stars, a vital step in determining the mass of stars in the binary system. The mass of a star determines its life cycle, so these measurements were very important to the emerging theories of stellar evolution.
The last resarch program took place in the early 1970s when one of the first image-tube cameras was used in a search for supernova remnants in the Milky Way.
The telescope was restored to almost original condition in the early 1990s however succumbed to the Canberra firestorm of 18 January 2003 leaving it damaged beyond repair.