Uppsala Southern Schmidt Telescope

Lore & Background

The Uppsala Schmidt Telescope was built in 1956 in Sweden. The telescope was originally located at the Mount Stromlo Observatory. It was operational there between 1957 and 1982. It took the first images ever recorded of the Sputnik satellite in 1957. The telescope was modernised in 2000 and 2001 to include the experimental use of Charge-coupled devices (CCDs) which are 40 times more sensitive than standard photography. The Uppsala Schmidt telescope was the instrument used by the Siding Spring Survey to conduct the only professional search for dangerous asteroids being made in the Southern Hemisphere. The telescope was decommissioned by the ANU late in 2013 and the Siding Spring Survey near-Earth object search program closed down after funding dried up.

Reader's Guide

The Uppsala Schmidt Telescope is notable for its role in discovering potentially hazardous near-Earth asteroids and comets. The telescope was used by Robert H. McNaught to discover 400 potentially hazardous near-Earth asteroids which have a diameter greater than 100 metres. McNaught used the telescope to discover comet C/2006 P1, also known as the Great Daylight Comet of 2007, on the night of 7 August 2006. That comet was the brightest seen in over 40 years. Other notable discoveries made by the telescope include finding 7604 Kridsadaporn, C/2007 Q3, C/2009 R1, C/2013 A1 ("Siding Spring Comet"), 2012 LZ1, (242450) 2004 QY2 and (308242) 2005 GO21. Its legacy includes being the only professional search for dangerous asteroids in the Southern Hemisphere, until its decommissioning in late 2013 due to funding cessation.

Did You Know?

• It had a field of view three times as large as that of the Anglo-Australian Telescope.
• It was used to discover comet C/2006 P1, the brightest comet seen in over 40 years.
• The telescope was decommissioned in late 2013 after funding for the Siding Spring Survey dried up.