Grove Creek Observatory

Grove Creek Observatory is a non-profit astronomical research facility in Trunkey Creek, New South Wales, Australia, about a four-hour drive from Sydney.

About Grove Creek Observatory

The observatory is run by Jim Lynch and Greg Ford, and houses several remote-controlled telescopes across three separate enclosures. It is also home to one of the few privately owned radio telescopes in Australia.

History

Grove Creek's reputation reaches beyond Earth: asteroid 217603 Grove Creek, discovered there in 2008 by Italian amateur astronomer Fabrizio Tozzi, was officially named after the observatory, with the naming citation published by the Minor Planet Center in January 2010. A smaller asteroid, 2010 AL30, was also discovered at the site in 2010.

Telescopes & research

Alongside its optical telescopes, Grove Creek hosts the Small Radio Telescope (SRT), owned by Andrew Mattingly and Greg Ford, which operates at the 21 cm hydrogen spin-flip line (1420 MHz). The SRT has been used extensively for southern-hemisphere research by the Institute for Theoretical Physics and Astrophysics in Kiel, Germany.

Location & getting there

The observatory sits in Trunkey Creek, New South Wales, in the Oceania region, roughly four hours' drive from Sydney. Use the map on this page for exact coordinates and directions.

Visiting Grove Creek Observatory

As a working research facility, visits are generally by arrangement rather than drop-in. Check the observatory's website before planning a trip.

See your named star from here

An observatory that has already found and tracked a real asteroid has more than enough precision to locate the coordinates of a star named through Star Register. Name a star as a gift, or browse the star catalogue.