The observatories opened up - but unfortunately the weather closed in. Such was the introduction to ‘Open Day’ at Siding Spring Observatory on Saturday October 15th 2011. Fog and misty showers fortunately cleared as the morning rolled on to be replaced by a sunny afternoon, anyone would have thought that we were in “four seasons in one day Melbourne” but no, we were at Siding Spring Observatory 25 kilometres west of Coonabarabran, in north-west New South Wales.
John and Jan Shobbrook at the Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network’s Faulkes Telescope South joined the eleven other observatories at Siding Spring to welcome guests young and old from near and far, including a family who drove from Western Australia some 3,700 kilometres to the west. At the Faulkes Telescope “all was revealed” with tours of the main enclosure, the control room and the pump room together with a brief explanation of Las Cumbres Observatory’s “Global” commitment. A splendid time was had by all. Many thanks to both John and Jan for an excellent day.
