The Anglo-Australian Telescope turns 35 On Friday 16 October the largest telescope in Australia, and one of the most productive in the world, will celebrate its 35th birthday. The 3.9-m Anglo-Australian Telescope (AAT) at Siding Spring Observatory in NSW lies 25 km from the town of Coonabarabran. It was inaugurated on 16 October 1974 by HRH Prince Charles and the then Prime Minister, Gough Whitlam.
There are concerns the visitors' centre at Coonabarabran's Siding Springs Observatory will close at the end of the month. The Australian National University's (ANU) Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics is withdrawing from the centre and had planned to call for expressions of interest for another operator.