Mt Stromlo pics

[kinetic (Steve)]

My family and I dropped in to Mt Stromlo for a quick stop, on our way home
from Sydney recently.

I have wanted to visit this place since being a kid, but somehow, never
made it. I was quite excited to finally get there but this feeling soon
evaporated.

It was with somewhat mixed emotions because of all of the bushfire damage.

Some things really impressed the hobbyist / tinkerer in me though,
for example the way polar alignment was dealt with on a huge
instrument like the 74".

Such a huge loss. Such a monumental task for any restoration project,
many of which I have read about for years.
It is such a pity that Canberra is suffering urban sprawl just like every
other city. It is also quite puzzling why they even bother installing
cutoff streetlight fixtures in nearby developments, when it seems to me
just a token effort, with no real effectiveness.

But anyway, here are some shots, some of my initial elation caught on
camera by my partner, some shots of former glory...seriously beautiful relics.

[kinetic (Steve)]

a few more

[Octane (Humayun)]

I've taken many of the same pictures, mate. On film, though.

Shoulda said hello!

H

[kinetic (Steve)]

last lot

[Kunama]

You should given us some notice Steve, did you get to see the Oddie II refractor and the GMT building?

I always feel sad going up there these days, having had the pleasure of viewing through those scopes more than 3 decades ago.

[LewisM]

I am so glad I saw Mt Stromlo many MANY years ago as a young kid. It surely did spark my already fledgling interest in Astronomy.

Truly saddening images.

[Ric]

I used to live about 5km from Stromlo as a kid.

The Stromlo forest was my backyard. It's always sad to see it in that condition, a sobering reminder that fire has no favourites.

[kinetic (Steve)]

H, K,

it was really a lightning visit. If I had more time I would have loved to catch up.
My wife talked me into detouring down to Canberra on the way home.
As it was, it was a 15hr drive, 1500km....and we had to get back to work for
Tuesday. As luck would have it, the Stromlo visitor's centre was closed on Monday!
I wanted to go further to Tidbinbilla too, but we really had to get back on the road.
We eventually got back into Adelaide at 3am...after leaving Sydney 7am from Sutherland, right near Pete W the A-380 pilot! ).

My wife got a bit tired of me marking the journey across and back with comments like:
Oh Coota, John G lives there...Albury..Petra lives there, Canberra , H lives there, and Baz, you know,
the guy who asked me for tips on building geo-domes . Pete , the pilot lives over there at Barden Ridge....

Another trip maybe....our boy should be a black belt by the next Nationals

Steve

[Octane (Humayun)]

All good, mate. I know how it is.

H

[kinetic (Steve)]

Does anyone in the know about all things Stromlo, know what the story is
behind this truss assembly/ remnant, lying over in the grass?

Steve

[baileys2611 (Simon Bailey)]

Fires in 2003, those living in the area all know them well. Many of us fought the fire as it came though. I was living in Duffy at the time and experienced the whole shebang from early morning to evacuation of the suburb in the evening. We evacuated to an oval nearby and watched things rage around us until we could get in the car and escape without fear of the tires melting!

The shot you are showing there is one of many scopes that were destroyed during the fire.

[Kunama]

Originally Posted by kinetic

Does anyone in the know about all things Stromlo, know what the story is
behind this truss assembly/ remnant, lying over in the grass?

Steve

Hi Steve, this is the truss tube and upper assembly from the 50" Telescope, the Great Melbourne Telescope c1868 Grubb. It is not the original component, the original upper tube was a steel lattice construction.
It was modified at Stromlo quite a long time later to the configuration in your picture. This assembly was the third configuration of the scope. (the second was an enclosed tube)

This is what it looked like before the fires: