The Canopus Hill Observatory

Canopus Hill Observatory

The Canopus Hill Observatory is an optical astronomy observatory belonging to the University of Tasmania , It is located approximately 12 km from Hobart in Tasmania, Australia and is a host of Canopus 1 m telescope...

 houses the Canopus 1 metre telescope

Telescope

A telescope is an instrument that aids in the observation of remote objects by collecting electromagnetic radiation . The first known practical telescopes were invented in the Netherlands at the beginning of the 1600s , using glass lenses...

and is situated approximately 12 km from Hobart

Hobart

Hobart is the state capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Founded in 1804 as a penal colony,Hobart is Australia's second oldest capital city after Sydney. In 2009, the city had a greater area population of approximately 212,019. A resident of Hobart is known as...

 in Tasmania

Tasmania

Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. Because of its extreme southerly latitude (43 degrees south

43rd parallel south

The 43rd parallel south is a circle of latitude that is 43 degrees south of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses the Atlantic Ocean, the Indian Ocean, Australasia, the Pacific Ocean and South America.On December 21 the sun is at 70.83 degrees in the sky....

) the telescope provides opportunities for study of the Magellanic Clouds

Magellanic Clouds

The two Magellanic Clouds are irregular dwarf galaxies visible in the southern hemisphere, which are members of our Local Group and are orbiting our Milky Way galaxy...

 throughout the year.

Telescope instrumentation includes a 2 channel high speed photometer

Photometer

In its widest sense, a photometer is an instrument for measuring light intensity or optical properties of solutions or surfaces. Photometers are used to measure:*Illuminance*Irradiance*Light absorption*Scattering of light*Reflection of light*Fluorescence...

 with UBVR and C filters and a CCD

Charge-coupled device

A charge-coupled device is a device for the movement of electrical charge, usually from within the device to an area where the charge can be manipulated, for example conversion into a digital value. This is achieved by "shifting" the signals between stages within the device one at a time...

 photometer with SITe 512x512 pixel illuminated backside thinned CCD and quick change 6 channel filter wheel. These are mounted at the f/11 Cassegrain

Cassegrain reflector

The Cassegrain reflector is a combination of a primary concave mirror and a secondary convex mirror, often used in optical telescopes and radio antennas....

 focus. A high resolution Coude spectrograph

Spectrometer

A spectrometer is an instrument used to measure properties of light over a specific portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, typically used in spectroscopic analysis to identify materials. The variable measured is most often the light's intensity but could also, for instance, be the polarization...

exists but is currently not operational. A tip-tilt mechanism on the tertiary mirror is now used for auto-guiding during long exposures but will be used for full first order image correction when a fast guide camera becomes available.

External links

• Canopus 1 m telescope (Tasmania)