In New Zealand, astronomers and their telescopes are thick on the ground.
The Royal Astronomical Society of New Zealand, founded in 1920, has 22 affiliated societies. The Auckland Astronomical Society has 600 members. The Wellington, Canterbury and Otago branches have hundreds more. The Hibiscus Coast Astronomical Society on the North Shore of Auckland has 60 members, the Timaru branch has 40 and a handful of astronomers meet regularly on Stewart Island. Members of these societies or clubs meet monthly, weekly or nightly, if it's a cloudless sky.
Our biggest telescope is at Canterbury University's observatory atop Mt John and there are another four smaller telescopes up there as well. With commanding views of the Southern Alps and overlooking Lake Tekapo, Mt John has been described as one of the prettiest places on Earth. Astronomers there recently reported on two stars exploding 11.5 billion light-years away - an event that happened long before our solar system was created.
Bu hikaye New Zealand Listener dergisinin April 9 - 15, 2022 sayısından alınmıştır.
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Bu hikaye New Zealand Listener dergisinin April 9 - 15, 2022 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
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