More than a Big White Dome

This year sees Australia’s largest optical telescope celebrate the 50th anniversary of its opening in October 1974 by HM King Charles III, then Prince of Wales. Originally owned and operated by the Australian and British Governments, the 3.9-m Anglo-Australian Telescope made an immediate impact on optical astronomy by being the first telescope of its size to work entirely under computer control. Several exciting decades of discovery and innovation followed, maintaining the telescope in the forefront of astronomical research. That is a position it still occupies in the field of spectroscopic surveys, operating today under the management of a consortium of Australian universities. In this entertaining and copiously illustrated talk, the telescope’s former Astronomer-in-Charge gives an overview of its history, working life and future in an era of much larger telescopes.

Professor Fred Watson

Professor Fred Watson AM is the Australian Government’s Astronomer-at-Large, an outreach, advocacy and advisory role in the Department of Industry, Science and Resources. Educated in Scotland at the universities of St Andrews and Edinburgh, Fred worked at both of Britain’s Royal Observatories before joining the Australian Astronomical Observatory as Astronomer-in-Charge in 1995. Today, he is best known for his award-winning radio and TV broadcasts, books, music, dark-sky advocacy and the Space Nuts podcast. His work also includes providing expert astronomy advice to government. Fred is an adjunct professor in several Australian universities. He also has an asteroid named after him (5691 Fredwatson), but says that if it hits the Earth, it won't be his fault.