Stardome Observatory

By 1956 they had significant funds, including a substantial bequest from Mrs Edith Winstone Blackwell[1] for the purchase of a telescope for public use.

Stardome Observatory and Planetarium is committed to ensuring that celestial stories, astronomy, mātauranga Māori and cosmological science are shared with integrity and honour, allowing visitors to explore the interconnections between people, Earth, and the cosmos.

In 1988, the observatory participated in the discovery of the atmosphere of Pluto by measuring the brightness change as the planet passed in front of a star.

During the 1980s the Zeiss telescope was used to support several doctoral students from the University of Auckland (most notably Rodger Freeth), including the development of a new computer-controlled photon counting photometer.

In 1999, a Celestron C-14 Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope was provided by the Nustrini family for installation in the newly built second dome at Stardome Observatory.

A grant from the ASB Trust was used to buy a Paramount GT1100s mounting (manufactured by Software Bisque) and an Apogee AP8p CCD camera.

Stardome Observatory & Planetarium is a member of the microFUN collaboration[7] which attempts to detect extra-solar planets by gravitational microlensing.

MicroFUN is based at the Astronomy Department of Ohio State University and coordinates the observation of high-magnification microlensing events.

The research telescope at Stardome is used to make regular astrometric observations of comets and near-Earth objects (NEOs) for the Minor Planet Center.

The Zeiss telescope was purchased with money from a gift to the people of Auckland by the late Edith Winstone Blackwell MBE.