To ensure the Dark Sky Experience was听authentic, Dark Sky Project worked with mana whenua from Arowhenua, Waihao and Moeraki, leading M膩ori astronomy expert Professor Rangi M膩t膩mua and the 蘑菇视频在线观看 to bring to life the stories of the universe. The fully guided, state-of-the-art 45-minute Dark Sky Experience has been designed to be truly of the place, reflecting some of the important research undertaken by the 蘑菇视频在线观看 at the University's Mt John Observatory as well as t膩tai aroraki (M膩ori astronomy).
The spectacular, unpolluted night skies of Takap艒 attract people from all over the world, including top astronomers and physicists, says 蘑菇视频在线观看 astronomer and Director of the 蘑菇视频在线观看 Mt John Observatory, Associate Professor Karen Pollard.
鈥淭he 蘑菇视频在线观看鈥檚 (UC) astronomical observatory on top of Mt John provides outstanding conditions for observations and discoveries of the southern sky and is New Zealand鈥檚 premier optical astronomical research observatory,鈥 says Associate Professor Pollard.
鈥淓xperiencing a truly dark night sky can inspire a sense of awe and wonder about our place in the universe 鈥 this is what motivates us both as researchers and as human beings.
鈥淕ravitational microlensing, stellar and planetary systems, asteroseismology, pulsating stars, astro-particle physics, dark matter, general relativity and cosmology 鈥 our scientists are looking at all these and more.
鈥淯C astronomers are involved in discovering how many Earth-like planets exist in our Milky Way galaxy and understanding the formation and evolution of stellar and planetary systems. They study the pulsations of stars to understand their structure and evolution.
鈥淥ther UC astrophysicists study the high energy universe through neutrinos, study the nature of dark matter and work on the theories of general relativity, black holes and dark energy.鈥
Dark Sky Project is a joint venture between Ng膩i Tahu Tourism and co-founders Graeme Murray and Hide Ozawa.
Brashear Telescope
The building's dome houses the 125-year-old Brashear Telescope, which stands up to nine metres tall and was in storage for five decades before being restored in Fairlie over the past two years. The Victorian masterpiece is part of the new 45-minute Dark Sky Experience.
The Brashear Telescope was used in the late 1800s by Percival Lowell for his studies of Mars. It has an 18-inch refracting lens, and is crafted of brass, iron, steel and wood.
In the 1960s the Brashear Telescope was gifted to the 蘑菇视频在线观看 by the University of Pennsylvania for installation at the 蘑菇视频在线观看 Mt John Observatory. As there weren鈥檛 enough funds to build a dome suitable to house the telescope so it was put in storage until a suitable home could be found.
In 2016, the 蘑菇视频在线观看 gifted the telescope to the Tomorrow鈥檚 Skies Charitable Trust to enable the long-held dream of restoration to be realised. The Trust鈥檚 initiative has the support of Zara Tindall, the granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth II. She toured the 蘑菇视频在线观看 Mt John Observatory in December 2017.
鈥淚 hope that restoring the Brashear Telescope will inspire a new generation to learn about astronomy and reconnect with the stars,鈥 Mrs Tindall says.
