Sydney Observatory is a giant tower located on Observatory Hill that offers
amazing views of the night sky. This astronomical observatory museum used to
be a fort constructed at the beginning of the XIX century, later in the same
century, it was converted into a stargazing spot.
The observatory headquarters building was designed in 1858 by the architect
Alexander Dawson, and it boasts an Italian colonial style and has two domes
and one tower. One dome was included to harbour the equatorial telescope;
one room with long and narrow windows, for the meridian circle; one cabinet for
calculation; and one residence for the astronomer. The western wing was
added later in the year 1877 with one office and one library; as well as the
second demo to another telescope.
Those who go to the observatory at night have the chance to see the stars and
planets through a big Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope of 40 cm of diameter; you
can even have the chance to see the sky with an old refractor telescope of 29
cm, built in 1874.
Some of the first astronomical photos of the southern hemisphere sky were
taken from this observatory. The Sidney Observatory is a wonderful museum
you can’t stop visiting. It opens every night except Christmas and Boxing Day
and the entrance costs are 18 Australian dollars per adult and reservations are
mandatory.
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