Zadko Observatory
Observatory
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Zadko Observatory is an astronomical observatory (obs. code: D20) located within the Wallingup Plain in the Gingin shire, Western Australia. It is owned and operated by the University of Western Australia.
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| Organization | |||||
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| Observatory code | D20  | ||||
| Location | Gingin, Western Australia, Shire of Gingin, Australia | ||||
| Coordinates | 31°21′31.4″S 115°42′47.2″E | ||||
| Altitude | 50 m (160 ft) | ||||
| Website | www | ||||
| Telescopes | |||||
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  Location of Zadko Observatory | |||||
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History
The Zadko Observatory was created in 2008 to host the Zadko Telescope,[1] a 1.0m instrument donated to the University of Western Australia by James Zadko,[2] CEO of Claire Energy.[3] It was then expanded to fit several other instruments in 2011. The Observatory is located close to the Australian Interferometer Gravitational Observatory. The original construction cost AUD 1 million.[4]
Observations are performed robotically every night, and have led to various important results, such as the observation of the first detected counterpart of a gravitational wave source, GW170817.[5][6]
Instruments
The observatory operates one robotic 1.0-metre Cassegrain telescope for scientific studies. In addition, the observatory hosts several instruments operated by private companies.
