Corporate Body
Commonwealth Observatory (c. 1950 - 1957)
- From
- c. 1950
Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia - To
- 1957
- Functions
- Astronomy or Space Science and Observatory
- Alternative Names
- Mount Stromlo Observatory (Now known as)
- Reference No
- CA 634
- Legal Status
- Agency of the Commonwealth of Australia
Summary
The Commonwealth Solar Observatory changed its name to the Commonwealth Observatory in the middle of the twentieth century. The Observatory continued its focus on the study of solar phenomena as well as allied stellar and spectroscopic research. In 1952 the Observatory's workshop was destroyed in a bushfire, although the main astronomical observatory received little damage. The control of the Observatory was transferred from the Department of the Interior to the Australian National University in 1957. It became known as the Mount Stromlo Observatory.
Related entries
Timeline
1924 - c. 1950 Commonwealth Solar Observatory
c. 1950 - 1957 Commonwealth Observatory
1957 - c. 1967 Mount Stromlo Observatory
c. 1967 - Mount Stromlo and Siding Spring Observatories
Archival resources
Adolph Basser Library, Australian Academy of Science
Published resources
Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation Exhibitions
- Smith, Ailie, Adolph Basser Library Manuscript Collection, eScholarship Research Centre, 2012, http://www.eoas.info/basser_browse.html. Details
Books
- Bhathal, Ragbir, Sutherland, Ralph and Butcher, Harvey, Mt Stromlo Observatory: From Bush Observatory to the Nobel Prize (Collingwood (Vic.): CSIRO, 2013), 330 pp. Details
- Frame, Tom and Faulkner, Don, Stromlo: an Australian Observatory (Sydney: Allen & Unwin, 2003), 364 pp. Details
Journal Articles
- Gasgoigne, S. C. B., 'Astrophysics at Mount Stromlo: the Woolley era', Proceedings of the Astronomical Society of Australia, 5 (1984), 597-605. Details
- Orchiston, Wayne, Slee, Bruce and Burman, Ron, 'The Genesis of Solar Radio Astronomy in Australia', Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage, 9 (1) (2006), 35-56. Details
Resources
- Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-636943. Details
Resource Sections
- 'Primary description of agency CA 634; Commonwealth Solar Observatory/ (by 1950) Commonwealth Observatory/ (from 1957) Mount Stromlo Observatory/ (by 1967) Mount Stromlo and Sidining Spring Observatories, Registration of entity: 22 March 1982', in RecordSearch, National Archives of Australia, 2000, https://RecordSearch.naa.gov.au/scripts/AutoSearch.asp?Number=CA%20634. Details
Helen Cohn
Created: 7 August 2003, Last modified: 15 February 2024