Why these Aussie volunteers are sharing their 'light years' of astronomy knowledge

In a land not all that far away lies an incredible piece of Australian space history.

The Perth Observatory is Western Australia’s oldest observatory, opening in Kings Park 119 years ago.

In 1966 the observatory made the move to Bickley, in the Perth Hills, where it has remained ever since.

It’s just a 35-minute drive from the city, but the observatory is worth the trip for the ‘light years’ of knowledge on offer.

Perth Observatory was the last fully state funded research facility in Australia.

Research included; helping to discover rings around Uranus, taking 10 percent of all ground-based positions for Comet Halley and being part of NASA’s International Planet Patrol.

When the funding for research stopped a few years ago, the misconception grew that the observatory not longer existed.

This couldn’t be more far from the truth.

While the observatory no longer has a government astronomer and assistant positions, a large group of volunteers have taken it upon themselves to fill the void.

With 60 experienced volunteers and 20 more in training, they’ve got plenty of knowledge to share.

From professional astronomers and academics, scientists, teachers, engineers, IT professionals to retail workers and retirees – many work full time and volunteer at night or on the weekend.

Each volunteer shares a common interest in astronomy and has a keen eye for the sky.

Matt Woods had all but given up his dream of working as an astronomer until he found the observatory.

The web developer by day has spent more than 450 hours volunteering in the last nine months.

“I love it, as soon as I hit those gates I forget about everything else that’s going on,” he told Yahoo7.

Astronomy had always been Matt’s passion but he struggled to find a way to make it part of his life until he got involved.

“When I first joined I had never owned a telescope… I just loved astronomy and had all this knowledge,” he said.

“I love helping the observatory to grow, we have so much to offer”.

Matt now serves on the committee and hosts star gazing nights for the public.

“The tours go for about an hour an a half, the best time to come is December to January and April through to May,” he said.

The observatory chairperson, Diana Rosman, knows the area like the back of her hand after living in Perth Hills for 40 years.

Also a volunteer, Diana said the observatory was a good way for retirees to pursue an interest n science and public outreach.

“It’s nice to belong to a group of knowledgeable and committed people,” she said.

It’s the dedicated volunteers like Diana and Matt who keep the doors to the observatory open to the public.
“It takes commitment, but it’s fun and there’s a lot of flexibility,” she said.

There are many different ways volunteers can get involved at the observatory, such as; the heritage library, the museum, the day tours, star viewing groups and every day administrative and technical operations.

The walls of the heritage museum are lined with impressive photographs of the night sky, mostly taken by the skilled volunteers and former employees.

But the observatory is not only in search of what’s out there in the sky, it’s also serves to reflect Australia’s history of space exploration.

It’s currently home to hundreds of books, records and instruments used to survey the land and map the stars – some of which were used to make some remarkable discoveries.

It’s also home to a large meteorite fragment, newspaper cuttings and furniture from the original Perth astronomer’s office – which was used in the late 1800s.

While the inside is impressive, outside is where the truly magical action happens.

Once trained, volunteers are able to work in the telescope domes and show visitors what’s in the night sky.

The visitor’s observing facility is home to two telescopes, one which is 100-years-old and another more modern one which can be accessed remotely.

Across from this is a small hexagonal dome, home to a 1970s reflecting telescope – something that’s considered a space photographer’s dream.

The observatory is also home to many impressive pieces of equipment, one of their astrograph telescopes is almost 120 years old.

While it ceased use in the late 90s, it was responsible for hundreds of photographic glass plates that captured almost 100 years of research at the facility.

The volunteers hoped one day an investor would be willing to fund the digitization of these plates, so the research can continue.

“With new knowledge, the astronomers want to go back to these old plates to see what they have missed and compare them to what they can see now,” Diana said.

“Our team have some ideas of what they might find but we won’t know until we digitize them – It would show us details of what was in the southern skies across the last 100 years”.

What lies in the observatory museum and under the domes is not only beneficial to Western Australia, it’s an important part of space observation internationally.

“There’s a high value in this history and a value in keeping it,” Diana said.

“Things are operating here because of the care that’s been taken in the last 100 years by a variety of people”.

The more people come to visit the observatory and see what is on offer, the more likely it will be that it can be used for great things in the future.

All funds raised go entirely back into maintenance and new attractions, and the volunteers had big hopes for the future if the crowds continued to grow.

“We have to be mindful that we’re all volunteers and have a certain amount of resources… we can’t go too fast too soon or we will burn people out,” Diana said.

“We want to be able to build the day tours for kids and continue the star gazing nights with a premium tour, we also want to upgrade the heritage museum”.

The group hoped their enthusiasm in astronomy would inspire future generations to study more maths and science subjects and get involved too.

“It’s just natural to be interested in the skies, but we’re in a good place to encourage people to look up and see that science can be interesting,” Diane said.

On September 26 the Perth Observatory will open its doors to the public for an open day to showcase the beginning of a new era for one of the state’s oldest treasures.

For more information on the Perth Observatory visit perthobservatory.com.au.