Linden Observatory in Linden, New South Wales | Landmark

Linden Observatory

Locality: Linden, New South Wales

Address: 105 Glossops Road 2778 Linden, NSW, Australia

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• Landmark & historical place
• Landmark

24.01.2022 The Altitude Project launch last night. Despite being a bit damp everyone seemed to enjoy the event. Thanks to everyone involved.

23.01.2022 On ANZAC Day, remembering those who served in a distant war, often having no idea what they were getting into or where their lives would lead. A young Ken Beames, a bush kid from Gilgandra in western NSW, joined the Australian Light Horse Brigade in Palestine during WWI. The portrait shows him in his army great coat and hat, both young and old, 70 years apart.

23.01.2022 Here is the Eventbrite registration info for the upcoming Science at the local event at the observatory: www.eventbrite.com.au/e/science-at-the-local-astronomy-nigh

23.01.2022 Were booked out again for tomorrows event. For those who missed out well aim to do more in the future, but havent got the logistics sorted yet... watch this space! The weather is looking good - much better than last time...brrrr!. Even so, prepare for the cool of the evening. Try to arrive before sunset so you can find your way around (Sunset is 5:49) before it gets too dark. Scheduled running time is 5:15 - 8:45. I wont be there tomorrow (a friends wedding took priority) so youll miss out on my famous dome tours :) but our other volunteers will be sure to do a great job! I hope everyone has a great evening.

23.01.2022 A massive thank you to the team of volunteers who turned up this morning to help clear around the workshops in preparation against bushfire. A big call out to Jenny and Colin from Linden RFS for their help rounding them up. Were getting some fantastic offers of help to make the Observatory as safe as possible if or when the fire gets here.

22.01.2022 A great photo of Ken.

22.01.2022 From my shed archives: It’s hard to believe it’s been 50 years since I was huddled with my school friends in front of a B&W TV watching this. Amazing times.

21.01.2022 Dress warm if you are getting up in the early hours of tomorrow morning to see the lunar eclipse! Find an open space with a good view to the west (if you are in Eastern Australia) as the moon sets during the eclipse. Being a full moon (and the wrong end of the night), the Observatory is NOT open for this event - we like dark skies! If you take any good pics, send us some.

19.01.2022 How do you break a drought? Hold an Astronomy event! Yesterdays change brought some bleak conditions for a while, but for those who braved the conditions and stuck it out the rain cleared and we had a few hours of clear skies for Science at the Local. The wind stayed, so with a wind chill near zero you had to be rugged up. If you are planning on coming to the next event on 15th September, layers people, layers!

18.01.2022 Ken Beames spent years attempting to build a similar planetarium, which now stands as his great unfinished work. Mechanical planetaria were once the high art of mechanical and optical engineering, its a little sad to see their passing.

17.01.2022 Dome repair #4, reassembling the eastern drive. It went together a bit easier than expected. Glad I didnt meet the spider when it was alive!

16.01.2022 Only known colour footage of observatory dome construction at Linden Observatory

15.01.2022 A follow up on Kens very early telescopes, here he is with the 1934 equatorial, plus newspaper articles from the time.

13.01.2022 From my shed archives: Its hard to believe its been 50 years since I was huddled with my school friends in front of a B&W TV watching this. Amazing times.

13.01.2022 Starting repairs on the old dome drive wheels which finally failed after 70 years.

10.01.2022 Very relieved to see the fire status change to Under Control today. The containment line is 7km to the North West, so really hoping it holds over the next few days of high temperature and possible NW winds. Great job done by all the RFS teams to get it to this stage. All we need now is lots of rain.

10.01.2022 Very relieved to see the fire status change to ‘Under Control’ today. The containment line is 7km to the North West, so really hoping it holds over the next few days of high temperature and possible NW winds. Great job done by all the RFS teams to get it to this stage. All we need now is lots of rain.

10.01.2022 Dome repair #3... Success! Cutting the tyre off did the trick. Time to organize new tyres, tubes and drive belts.

09.01.2022 A fantastic night despite the freezing wind. Thank you to everyone who braved the conditions to make it such a successful event and Linden RFS for the sausage sizzle.

09.01.2022 Observatory Closure At this time with Covid-19 not adequately contained and the consequent necessity of social distancing and to avoid unnecessary movement and contact of people between geographic areas, the Observatory will be closed until further notice. I have been advised that all WSAAG club viewing nights have also been cancelled until further notice. ... The only way to contain Covid-19 is to prevent person to person transmission so everyone please try to eliminate any unnecessary community contact. We will reopen only when it is safe to do so in line with the best medical and scientific advice. Stay safe everyone.

08.01.2022 Were doing two of these, Ill share the registration info as soon as I have it.

08.01.2022 The next Science at the Local event hosted air the observatory is September 15 - here are the details...

07.01.2022 Weve had a few people asking about whether we are doing something for the Stargazing Live Event. As much as we like Brian Cox and his work, we are not doing anything on Wednesday. Being run by a small group of volunteers (who have day jobs) means when we do events they mostly have to be weekends. We are planning an open day during Autumn and some other events later in the year so watch this space!

07.01.2022 Due to the current extreme bush fire conditions the Observatory is closed until further notice.

06.01.2022 Heres a surprise find - one of Ken Beames first telescopes from 1934, recently discovered in a storeroom at St Josephs College Hunters Hill. It is being restored for display at the school. Unusual for Ken to use an altazimuth mounting and with an interesting counterweight arrangement. I think the mirror could be the original from his more famous 1934 equatorial.

04.01.2022 A good night for planet watchers with Mercury, Venus, Earth (youre standing on it), Mars, Jupiter and Saturn all visible. Heres some pics of Venus and the Moon which are close to each other (visually) tonight.

04.01.2022 Forecast is clear and cold, get your tickets and rug up!

03.01.2022 Dome repair part #2... a lot more disassembly required on the eastern drive and its still not cooperating. The build up of surface rust on the end of the drive shaft wont let it pass through the bearings. Im going to cut the old tyre off to get more room to work. Fun and games!

03.01.2022 Linden Observatory dome during construction

03.01.2022 A couple years ago St Joseph’s College in Sydney discovered one of Ken Beames first telescopes, made in 1934, locked away in a storeroom. They’ve had it restored and are just finishing the display. It looks fantastic.

02.01.2022 Just a friendly reminder if you are coming to tonights event, please be mindful of other residents of Linden when you arrive by keeping noise down, keeping clear of driveways and not blocking the road. It is a small community, we need their support and want to be good neighbors. Thank you.

01.01.2022 A chance to do some citizen science tonight and participate in a world record attempt. The Australasian Dark Sky Alliance is measuring the effects of light pollution around the world - particularly Australia and New Zealand. Downloaded the app, go outside tonight and record what you can see. For more information go to https://worldrecordlight.thinkific.com/

01.01.2022 Help arrived today in the form of a digger to clear the firebreak around the workshops and other parts of the property. Many thanks to Andrew Trieu from Convoy Missions who found willing volunteers with equipment from Wildmans Cranes who did a fantastic job. The three point turn with the 45 semi on Glossop Rd was a work of art.