Western Sydney gets a new observatory

By Nabil Al-Nashar

Topic:Space

Astrophysics PhD student Nada Salama says the new observatory means more than just science. (ABC News: Nabil Al-Nashar)

In short:

Powerhouse Parramatta is now home to a new observatory.

It features a range of research-grade telescopes and a program targeting year 7 to year 10 students who can stay overnight.

What's next?

The museum is set to open on November 7 with five exhibitions.

More than two centuries after a famed observatory was built in Parramatta, a new one has been constructed a few hundred metres away on top of a newly built museum.

The $915 million Powerhouse Parramatta in Western Sydney features research-grade telescopes powerful enough to see distant galaxies.

It will be open to students during overnight stays and to researchers who could access it remotely or during residencies at the location.

Astrophysics PhD student Nada Salama was one of the first to take advantage of Parramatta's latest window to the stars.

The telescopes are industry-grade. (ABC News)

They can see distant galaxies. (ABC News)

Sitting on the museum's rooftop, the telescopes are covered by a ceiling that slides open. (ABC News)

She said the observatory represented a rare opportunity.

I think it'll be a really good opportunity for lots of people from Western Sydney to be able to access something like this, Ms Salama said.

These are powerful, these are research-grade, industry-grade telescopes … so you can see clusters with lots of stars, bigger nebulae, which are where stars are born from.

You can collect light

The observatory features two narrow field telescopes that can focus on smaller further away objects, and two wide field telescopes that can see the bigger picture.

The observatory features two narrow field telescopes and two wide field telescopes. (ABC News: Nabil Al-Nashar)

Ms Salama said the telescopes could not be looked through with the human eye.

These particular telescopes have sensors on them, which collect data, she said.

You can collect light of different colours. Some of these telescopes will have filter wheels on them, which will allow you to filter out all colours except for one or a certain band or range of colours.

They will collect data over long periods of time or certain exposures and allow you to study those objects.

This means researchers from anywhere in the world could take advantage of the collected data without having to physically be at the observatory.

The museum is set to open on November 7. (Supplied: Powerhouse Parramatta)

Sitting on the museum's rooftop, the telescopes are covered by a ceiling that slides open and shut remotely and can automatically close if threatened by rain or other unfavourable weather conditions.

Ms Salama said the observatory was about more than just science.

The new observatory holds a deep connection to Parramatta's past, as it sits 500 metres from the site of Australia's first private observatory built between 1821 and 1822 by Governor Thomas Brisbane.

It became famous for the extensive cataloguing of southern hemisphere stars.

The old Parramatta Observatory was built between 1821 and 1822. (ABC News: Monish Nand)

A sign and obelisk remain at the site. (ABC News: Monish Nand)

Students to 'interact' with astronomers

Sophie Poisel is head of the Lang Walker Family Academy at the museum, which will host up to 10,000 students a year from across New South Wales for overnight experiences.

They will get to come up, select an object in the sky, target it and collect real scientific data that they'll be able to look at in the studios downstairs, Ms Poisel said.

The program will target year 7 to year 10 students, who will be able to stay at the museum.

Ms Poisel says students will be able to interact face-to-face with astronomers. (ABC News: Mario Conti)

Ms Poisel said she was looking forward to hosting the first cohort.

There are two dormitories where the students will stay close by their teachers' quarters. There's a kind of lounge area for them to socialise in and there are four learning studios, she said.

On the top floor there are residencies so the students here will get to have face-to-face interactions with leading astronauts, astronomers, researchers, artists, that are all staying here.

Ms Havilah says the rooftop area will have astronomy programs. (ABC News: Mario Conti)

Prior to the NSW government announcing she was stepping aside from the role of Powerhouse Parramatta CEO, Lisa Havilah told the ABC that Parramatta's latest attraction was more than just a museum.

We have an incredible public domain around the rooftop now, and this rooftop will have astronomy programs … there'll be a whole range of ways that the community can engage with new ideas, new technology, and with creative practice, she said.

The building was designed by French Japanese architect Moreau Kusunoki and features a distinctive exoskeleton design, made from 18,000 tonnes of steel that wraps around the building.

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