[ASC-list] Free ANZAAS talk, Melbourne, Wed 16th May, 6:30pm

[David Vaux]

Free ANZAAS talk, Melbourne Wednesday 16th May, 6:30pm

All welcome, no booking needed.  Bring your friends!
At: Gene Technology Access Centre, 1H Royal Parade, Parkville
Free drinks and pizza after the talk

Dr Richard Gillespie
Head, History & Technology, Museum Victoria

“The Great Melbourne Telescope: Astronomy and the Public Understanding of Science”

The Great Melbourne Telescope is one of the great hidden stories of 19th century Melbourne, yet at the time it received much press coverage and public attention. Erected at Melbourne Observatory in 1869, the telescope was the second largest telescope in the world, designed to explore the nature of the nebulae in the southern hemisphere skies. For many Melburnians in the 1870s and 1880s, the telescope was tangible evidence of Melbourne’s greatness and claim to being the leading metropolis of the southern hemisphere.

When Melbourne Observatory closed in 1945, the telescope was transferred to Mount Stromlo Observatory in Canberra. Incredibly, it had a second and a third life, as it was rebuilt for new astronomical projects, including detecting evidence of dark matter in our galaxy. A further refurbishment of the telescope was planned, when the firestorm that hit Canberra in January 2003 destroyed the telescopes at Mount Stromlo. Now the Great Melbourne Telescope is about to embark on a new chapter in its history, with plans to restore and refurbish it for public and educational use, back home in its original building at Melbourne Observatory.

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Enter GTAC from Story Street or from Royal Parade, Parkville. It is in the grounds of University High School, behind the oval.

ANZAAS Vic is pleased to acknowledge the support by GTAC, CSL, WEHI and the Faculty of Science, Melbourne University, for the ANZAAS Melbourne science talks series
Further Info: David Vaux  davidlaurencevaux at gmail.com<mailto:davidlaurencevaux at gmail.com>  9345 2941
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