Australian Astronomical Observatory
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| Organization | AAO | ||||
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| Location | Coonabarabran, NSW, Australia | ||||
| Coordinates | 149° 03' 57.91" E, -31° 16' 37.34" S | ||||
| Altitude | 1,164 m (3,819 ft) | ||||
| Weather | 250 clear nights, 65% humidity | ||||
| Website | www |
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| Telescopes | |||||
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| Anglo-Australian Telescope | 3.9 m reflector |
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| UK Schmidt Telescope | 1.2 m reflector |
The Australian Astronomical Observatory (AAO), formerly the Anglo-Australian Observatory, is an optical/near-infrared astronomy observatory with its headquarters in North Ryde in suburban Sydney, Australia. Originally funded jointly by the United Kingdom and Australian governments, it is now managed wholly by Australia's Department of Industry, Innovation, Science, Research and Tertiary Education. The AAO operates the 3.9-metre Anglo-Australian Telescope (AAT) and 1.2-metre UK Schmidt Telescope (UKST) at Siding Spring Observatory, located near the town of Coonabarabran, Australia.
In addition to operating the two telescopes, AAO staff carry out astronomical research, as well as design and build innovative astronomical instrumentation for the AAT, UKST, and other telescopes including ESO's Very Large Telescope in Chile, and the Japanese Subaru Telescope on Mauna Kea in Hawaii.
UK involvement in the AAO ceased in June 2010, with the change of name and management arrangements effective from 1 July 2010.
In the years immediately after World War II optical observational astronomy in the UK was toiling due to a lack of modern infrastructure. There were no large telescopes in the southern hemisphere despite some of the most intriguing astronomical objects (e.g. the Galactic Centre and the Magellanic Clouds) being best placed for study from these latitudes. In the 1950s Richard Woolley, Director of Mount Stromlo Observatory from 1939–1956 and Astronomer Royal from 1956–1971, suggested constructing a large telescope in Australia.
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