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| Anglo-Australian Observatory, Siding Springs, in the firing line |
Australia's premier astronomy site, the Sidings Spring Observatory in the Warrumbungle Mountains near Coonabarabran, has been damaged by an out of control bushfire this afternoon.
All staff were evacuated from the observatory in time. Temperature sensors shot to 120 degrees Celsius as the fire-front passed over the site. Flames have been caught on webcams.
All staff were evacuated from the observatory in time. Temperature sensors shot to 120 degrees Celsius as the fire-front passed over the site. Flames have been caught on webcams.
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| Weather readings from the site, posted by English astronomer James Allen, currently working at SSO. Note the peak temperature! |
The Rural Fire Service has reported two nearby properties as destroyed and the observatory as "damaged". A journalist has cited a good RFS source as saying the damage "is significant".
As I write this, subsequent reports are still coming in, including visual confirmation that six of the 12 telescopes are intact. One that is standing but can't be contacted is Skymapper, although it can be seen as standing in webcam pictures. The MOPRA radio telescope is also not responding.
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| The MOPRA radio telescope still standing but not communicating... |
Nothing is known as yet of the administration and public buildings, astronomers' quarters or four houses (most of which can be seen in the top photo).
Nightfall is now upon the district. It is unlikely that we'll get the full story until morning, so about 10 hours away.
Astronomer Amanda Bauer was on-site and has summarised the day in her blog, and is updating it as news comes to hand.
UPDATE 10:18PM: Some webcam photos coming through are showing clearly that several buildings are on fire.
One decade on, another sad day from astronomy in Australia. As astronomer Brad Tucker said, it is sobering to think that Skymapper was built to replace a scope that burnt down at Mt Stromlo...
This scary image was taken when the fire swept over the ridge:
The various webcam shots here are being taken from automatically-mirrored feeds to ANU at Mt Stromlo, most by Brian Schmidt.
UPDATE 14/01: The Rural Fire Service managed to get a couple of crews on the mountain in the evening, and crews have been there this morning, including an RFS helicopter. ANU has reported five buildings lost or severely damaged. They have said: "Initial assessment: no major damage to telescopes. Impact on instruments unknown until later today." The lodge has been lost:
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| The lodge where visiting astronomers stayed. Via Brad Tucker |
It appears the Visitor Centre has been lost too. Brian Schmidt has posted that the Skymapper telescope has survived. Not sure if that means contact has be re-established.
The RFS is reporting that 12 properties have been destroyed. Many of the staff at SSO own homes along the road leading up to the mountain, included renowned comet and asteroid hunter Rob McNaught, who posted this early this morning:
I've only just got internet access, so apologies for the delay in
providing news. Just a note to let folks know that I and all the other staff at Siding Spring Observatory are safe and well, following the major bushfire that went through it this afternoon. I was unaware of the threat and only became aware when I heard helicopters flying over my house on the Timor Road some 10km from the observatory. Very quickly after,the smoke plume became obvious and was massive within minutes. Much of our view is obscured by trees! Tanya and I evacuated with our dogs within minutes and are currently staying in Coonabarabran.
We are aware of damage to the Observatory. Apparently the Visitor's Center has been damaged (some reports say lost) and other buildings(specifically the Lodge as Dave said) have also been damaged. I have no news about telescopes, but note that I can login to computers in the Uppsala office and the 2.3m building. The AAT should be unaffected as it is a very secure and well defended building. It is in fact the evacuation area on the mountain.
Two houses on the Timor Road are known to be be lost. I understand the fire went through our property so we can only hope. A high proportion of the Observatory staff have houses along this road and I met many of them in the evacuation centre this afternoon or heard reports that they were safe. Once again, many hold fears that their houses are lost. We heard a lot of hair raising stories from the last few to drive down the Timor Road as it became engulfed inflames.
I'll try to post an update tomorrow.
Cheers, Rob
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Robert H. McNaught
Uppsala Telescope/Siding Spring Survey, Australian National University, Siding Spring Observatory, Coonabarabran, NSW 2357 AustraliaThis webcam photo shows the scorched grounds around a number of the scopes, which appear to be intact:
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| Via NSW RFS |
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| Via NSW RFS |
This NSW RFS photo is very promising:
The main scope at the observatory: the Anglo-Australian Telescope was very well defended against just this sort of event, and appears intact (via NSW RFS):
Another webcam photo of a surviving building at the base of one of the scopes:
UPDATE 14/01 11AM: There is a bit of talk on Twitter about the telescope domes all being intact. However, it the condition of the gear inside that is the big question now. Some of the domes on Mt Stromlo survived too, like the main one for the 74" telescope:
But inside it was a very different situation (photos by me):
Where the astronomers have been able to contact the computers remotely, there is hope. But there are others where there is no contacts. We just have to wait...
UPDATE 15 Jan:
Catching up with the fall-out of the fire, after 24 hours pretty much off-line (holidays—family demanding attention, sheesh...). The Rural Fire Service have tallied some 33 homes destroyed in the district surrounding SSO, plus some 50 sheds and of course serious stock losses. At least 40,000 hectares have been burnt out, over a 100 kilometre front. A number of the houses belong to SSO staffers—including Rob McNaught, whose home was one of those lost.
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| Smoke clouds covering much of NSW, as taken by Chris Hadfield from the ISS. The Coonabarabran one is likely the one in centre-top. |
SSO's Peter Verwayen (@SSOPete) has reported all the observatories themselves are largely undamaged, except for smoke and ash that has penetrated a number of the domes. However, much of the operation of telescopes is in the equipment attached to them, and here things are not so clear. Some adjacent buildings have been destroyed including that for the MOPRA radio telescope.
ABC News has some aerial footage of the site and several houses. Have to click through and it's Flash. Baradine resident Allison Canham posted this photo of the smoke cloud above the fire, which was reported as going 14 kilometres high!:
The RFS has published a map of the fire-affected area—pretty much the entire Warrumbungles!
In an update from ANU at 11:30am, they said:
ANU support staff including a staff counsellor will travel to Coonabarabran tomorrow to meet with affected staff and their families. We are looking into options for an emergency appeal for members of ANU and the wider community. Access to the site remains very limited due to safety issues, and all access is in consultation with NSW RFS. 3 buildings have been destroyed (The Lodge, a cottage and a storage building). 3 other buildings have been badly damaged (The Visitors Centre and 2 sheds). 4 telescope buildings appear to have sustained some smoke damage. Fire preparation work appears to have been successful in preventing catastrophic damage to scientific facilities. ANU has approximately $80m of assets at SSO, which are fully covered with an extensive insurance arrangement. The University is in contact with partners who have scientific facilities on site to ensure they are aware of the developments.
iTelescope—the pay-per-use amateur astrophotography telescope group—have also advised that their week-old observatory has escaped damage.
To round off this post, it was interesting on the night of the fire to see the difference in trending topics on Twitter between areas. In Canberra (home of the ANU and CSIRO), all except one of the topics were related to the SSO threat:
But in the national trends, only the word 'Coonabarabran' rated a mention...Mainstream media has caught up since then, so knowledge of the seriousness of the fire has spread beyond science circles. But it does show something about physical and digital social circles I think...
UPDATE 15 January 16:30:
OK one more update—Edward Gomex (@zemogle) has compiled a timelapse from 12 hours of webcam frames from the Las Cumbres Observatory. There are some stunning moments, including particularly at 2:30:
(Some is really fast, requiring a bit of pause/play fancy footwork.)
UPDATE 17 January: the residential cost has been upped to 49 houses and 100 sheds. Machinery and animal losses beyond measure...
What a pitty!!! Sh... ! Sorry!!!
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