Gifford Observatory
Encyclopedia
Astronomy
Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...
observation facility located in Mount Victoria
Mount Victoria, Wellington
Mount Victoria, locally abbreviated to Mt. Vic, is a prominent hill to the east of the centre of Wellington, New Zealand, and its associated suburb. To the south of it is a spur, Mount Albert, and the two are linked by a ridge....
, Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. Operated by the Gifford Observatory Trust with the intent of making it available for use to Wellington school children, it is primarily used by secondary school students, and members of the Wellington Astronomical Society.
History of the observatory
Charles Gifford
Algernon Charles Gifford MA was an astronomer, explorer and teacher. Gifford was born off the Cape of Good Hope aboard the Zealandia and upon arrival in New Zealand his family settled in Oamaru. In 1880 he became a sizar at St John's College, Cambridge and graduated as 14th wrangler...
, a science teacher. The observatory was moved to the current site in 1926, on land that is now occupied in trust by Wellington College
Wellington College (New Zealand)
Wellington College is a state secondary school for boys in Mount Victoria in Wellington, New Zealand.-History:Wellington College opened in 1867 as Wellington Grammar School in Woodward Street, though Sir George Grey gave the school a deed of endowment in 1853. In 1874 it opened at its present...
and Wellington East Girls' College
Wellington East Girls' College
Wellington East Girls' College is on the lower slopes of Mount Victoria. It was built on reserve land bordering Wellington College in 1925, to cope with the demand for female education in Wellington at the time...
. The observatory fell into disrepair in the late 1970s due to a momentary lack of time and enthusiasm from staff and students at the school.
A trust was established in 1998 by a small group of interested teachers and amateur astronomers
Amateur astronomy
Amateur astronomy, also called backyard astronomy and stargazing, is a hobby whose participants enjoy watching the night sky , and the plethora of objects found in it, mainly with portable telescopes and binoculars...
from the Wellington Astronomical Society, with the goal of restoring the observatory to a working state. On March 25, 2002, the observatory was successfully re-opened by William Pickering
William Hayward Pickering
William Hayward Pickering ONZ KBE was a New Zealand born rocket scientist who headed Pasadena, California's Jet Propulsion Laboratory for 22 years, retiring in 1976...
, who had been a frequent user of the observatory during his school days.
Equipment
Since being moved to its present location in 1924, the observatory has housed a 130 mm Zeiss refracting telescopeRefracting telescope
A refracting or refractor telescope is a type of optical telescope that uses a lens as its objective to form an image . The refracting telescope design was originally used in spy glasses and astronomical telescopes but is also used for long focus camera lenses...
. The telescope was equipped with a clockwork drive until it was replaced by a motor drive in the mid-1960s.
The telescope was kept in storage during the observatory's disrepair throughout the 1980s and 1990s. It was returned to the observatory following the restoration.
