n astronomy bequest made 12 years ago has come to fruition as the new star-gazing Cretney Observatory, a major new dark sky facility at Ruakokopatuna’s Star Field, now home to seven astronomical observatory domes.
Named after benefactor Syd Cretney, the observatory belongs to Wellington Astronomical Society and is set up to be controlled remotely from Wellington, or any other place on the Internet.
Some 50 society members and guests were at the formal opening September 13 when speakers publicly thanked Cretney family members for Cretney’s “significant” and unexpected gift which was used to help build the new complex. The build had taken five years to complete.
Cretney was a long-standing member of the society, a self-taught astronomer and repairer of precision equipment for researching the dark skies. He is credited with re-discovering the remains of the historic Stephen Carkeek Observatory near Featherston in 1987, along with fellow astronomer Tony Dodson.
Carkeek Observatory, built in 1868, is the oldest surviving example of an astronomical observatory in New Zealand. It now has Heritage 1 historic building listing.
Cretney was also a member of the Royal Society of New Zealand, a premier scientific group.
Royal Astronomical Society president Duncan Hall told the opening the bequest came with the condition that “the gift was for the establishment of an observatory for the society’s own use and benefit, and that it be made available to all competent members of the society who wish to use it.”
The result is “an Internet-accessible” facility which has already been used for nearly 2,000 hours of dark sky research. The telescope’s camera had taken its first images in April, before the building had been completed. To ensure stability for the observatory, eight tonnes of concrete were poured to create its base.
WAS president Anne French said the observatory marks the start of a new stage for the Society.
‘The Cretney Observatory is well beyond the purchasing power of most amateur astronomers, yet it’s available to all our members to use,” she said.
Matt Balkham, WAS curator of instruments, said the telescope, a 400 mm Testar Officina Stellare RiFAST has already proved itself.
“It’s capable of taking impressive images of nebulae and other deep sky objects,” he said.
The society is working with astrophysics students at Victoria University, sharing data and producing images suitable for research.
The observatory will help deepen WAS’s outreach to schools, aged care facilities and other community groups, Balkham said. “Hopefully it brings people to the Wairarapa and also to science.” Being fully remotely operated and automated made it accessible for domestic and overseas stargazers, he added.
The Observatory is at Star Field in the Wairarapa International Dark Sky Reserve, one of only 21 International dark sky reserves in the world. The only other New Zealand reserve is at Mt John in the Aoraki-Mackenzie region. (WAS welcomes new members. Sign up at www.was.org.nz/join-us/)
