Watch this space!
This week, the Sydney Observatory celebrates 150 years. Lisa O'Brien looks back through the telescope at our astronomical icon
The Sydney Observatory has observed and recorded some of the most significant astronomical events (including transits of Venus in 1874 and 2004 and a close encounter with Mars in 2003) - it's remarkable that it was originally built not for astronomy but as a way for ships in Sydney Harbour to keep accurate time.
In the pre-radio days of the mid 19th century this meant telling the time via a visual signal, so a large yellow timeball was dropped from the top of the tower at a set time each day, a practice that continues today.
"The reason they needed an observatory in Sydney," says the Observatory's curator of astronomy, Dr Nick Lomb, "was because an astronomer had to observe the stars and the sun to get the exact time, otherwise the time ball would have been useless if it dropped at the wrong time."
Keeping the boats running on time was not the only role of the Observatory in its early days. It was responsible for weather forecasts and publishing weather maps. In 1899, the Observatory agreed to take part in the International Astrographic Catalogue, an ambitious project that aimed to compile the first atlas of the whole sky, and staff were allocated a large zone in the southern sky to measure and photograph. Seventy years and 53 volumes later, their task was complete.
"It was a very, very big job and nobody in their right mind would take on anything like that these days," Lomb says. "But it really determined the history of the observatory because the government did try and close the observatory down."
With air pollution and ambient light from the city's skyscrapers, Lomb admits that the Observatory is not in an ideal spot for astronomical observation anymore but says that visitors can still go to see Jupiter and its moons, the rings of Saturn and the Alpha Centauri star system.
"Different cultures tell different stories about the sky," says Lomb. "All these traditions are different but in many ways they're the same, because they all look up at the sky and they tell stories and they're part of life, part of their understanding of what's around them."
Sydney Observatory 150th Anniversary Celebrations Sat 7-Mon 9 Jun. Sydney Observatory, Watson Rd, The Rocks 2000. (02 9921 3485 www.sydneyobservatory.com.au). Adult $7, child $5, family $20. 10am-4pm.
You're unlikely to ever go to another 150th birthday party so make the most of this one.
Observing the Weather Exhibition From Thu 5 Jun. 10am-5pm. Free.
An exhibition on the events that have people cursing the weekend forecast.