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Australia Telescope: Mopra Telescope |
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With the introduction of remote observing, astronomers now stay at the Narrabri Lodge. Accommodation can be booked through the on-line form. Information about getting to Narrabri and the Narrabri Lodge are available here.
For observations for which staying at or near the telescope has been approved, the accommodation alternatives are: staying at the Mopra lodge or in a hotel in town.
The Mopra lodge itself is a two bedroom building attached to the control room. It contains an office, a bathroom, two bedrooms and a lounge/kitchen area. The facilities available in the lodge are described in the section below.
It is essential to book your stay by filling in the WWW reservation form located at http://www.atnf.csiro.au/observers/accomm/ Confirmation will be through the office at Narrabri: Telephone +61-2-6790-4000.
The on-site accommodation cost is A$36.30 per person (tax included), per night for non-ATNF staff, payable to the office in Narrabri or to the Sydney headquarters. The weekly rate is the equivalent of the charge for 5 nights, and the rate for full-time students is 50% of the regular rate.
The Kitchen/Lounge
The lodge contains a fully equipped kitchen. Specifically, the kitchen contains the following electrical appliances: a cooker (stove), an oven, a fridge-freezer, a filter coffee maker, a toaster, a kettle, and a microw ave oven. There is sufficient crockery, cutlery and kitchen utensils for up to a dozen people. As can be seen from the photos, there is a floating quantity of herbs/spices and basic cooking ingredients present. In general there are sufficient condiments and tea/coffee/biscuits supplied.
In the kitchen/lounge area there is a heater for the cold winter months. The sofa and tv in the living area make rainy nights at Mopra a little more cosy and agreable. There is a DVD player but it is temperamental at best. Also enjoy the tasteful decoration of the Nouveau Riche... The kitchen/lounge area is generally where all the unastronomical activity is to be found. When planning a visit here note that astronomer density, intensity and uncoordination varies in anti-phase with the visibility of the galactic plane.
The Office
The observatory runs a DHCP server so observers can simply plug their laptops in and surf to their hearts' content. Ports are located through the control room and lodge. There is also access to a fax machine/photocopier.
The Bathroom
The bathroom contains all the comforts of modern living. The shower is good but keep in mind that water usage should be restricted. Water is provided from tanks containing rainwater collected from the building roof, and has to be used sparingly during dry periods of weather.
The Bedrooms
Adequate accommodation for two people is available in two single-bed rooms (bedroom 1, bedroom 2). Each room is fitted with reverse cycle air conditioners . Sheets and towels are supplied and washed by the cleaner. The rooms are cleaned between visits. Apart from the two beds in the bedrooms there are two camp beds, but use of these is discouraged because of the lack of room in the building. There are extra duvets (doonas), blankets, and pillows in the bedroom cupboard.
Alternatively, for evening meals there are hotels and restaurants in Coonabarabran (the Star Thai Restaurant and the Golden Sea Dragon Restaurant are warmly recommended). It is also possible to arrange to have an evening meal at the Siding Spring Observatory Lodge (+61-2-6842-6291). Note that the SSO Lodge caters for optical astronomers, and dinner is served either at 6 pm (summer) or at 5 pm (winter).
The Observatory is located almost 25 km from the town of Coonabarabran, and is not serviced by public transport. Observers are strongly advised to provide their own transport, for safety reasons, and to allow for trips into town for supplies. In special cases, it may be possible to borrow transport from the Paul Wild Observatory at Narrabri. Taxis are available in Coonabarabran for transport.
NOTE: for observations of three days or more we require that two or more observers should be present at Mopra with access to an available car.
Please see the technical summary for more information on the observations possible with Mopra.
A daily bus connection is offered to Sydney and other towns. See the Countrylink pages for more information.
There is no direct flight to Coonabarabran. Nearby airports are Narrabri, Dubbo, and Gunnedah. It is possible to hire a car from these centres, or even to take a taxi to Coonabarabran. Taxis are not cheap: a taxi from Dubbo to Mopra costs about $280. Qantas offers flights to Dubbo and Narrabri and Big Sky Express services Gunnedah.
There are several routes from Sydney to Coonabarabran:
The maps below will give you some indication of the towns. Finding your way out of Sydney is the most difficult part and we will provide you with a detailed map for the purpose. Don't forget to drive on the left-hand side of the road.
Once you are on the John Oxley Highway (either from north or south) head towards the centre of town until you get to the clock tower. Turn west along Dalgarno Street, north up Namoi Street and then west again on Eden Street (which becomes Timor Road), where there should be a sign confirming that you are on the right road to the Warrumbungles. Watch out for kangaroos on the road from Coonabarabran to the Mopra site, especially at night time. There are usually plenty of them, and they often show a suicidal tendency to jump in front of cars.
About 16 km along the John Renshaw Parkway (Timor Road) you should see Timor Rock on your right then, 6 km further, a signpost tells you to turn right to the Mopra site. You can't see the antenna from the main road, as it is hidden by a hill. You can see Mopra rock ahead of you as you turn off to the right. A little way up the road from the turnoff is the first gate. The next gate is nearly at the antenna. The position of these gates can be seen in the map of Mopra roads and gates.
If you reach a road on the right directing you to Siding Springs Observatory, you have gone too far.
The main agricultural activities are timber, wheat and sheep. The maximum daily temperature ranges from 5°C in winter to 30°C in summer, with cool restful nights in summer, and the occasional snow on mid-winter nights. The Mopra site is a little colder, so take a woollen jumper with you, even in summer.
The Warrumbungle mountains have abundant Australian fauna and flora and are the main tourist attraction of the town. There are camping and picnic grounds in the national park with park rangers available for questions and advice. The mountains provide most spectacular scenery: clusters of the world's rarest extinct volcanoes form strangely-shaped peaks rising to almost 1220 m. Excellent walking tracks through varied plant cover lead to the base of these towering spires. If you want to know more about the volcanoes, visit the Crystal Kingdom Mineral Museum.
Nearby is the the eastern edge of the Siding Spring Observatory (operated by the Australian National University in Canberra), and situated at an altitude of 1165 m on Siding Spring Mountain. This observatory contains seven optical telescopes, including the Anglo-Australian Observatory's 3.9-m telescope (the AAT); this telescope is jointly funded by Australia and the United Kingdom. There is an excellent visitors exhibition building beside the AAT telescope, which offers you the opportunity to enter a section of the main dome of the telescope.
Coonabarabran has a Visitor Information Centre which can give more details on the attractions in the area, as well as hosting a display of Giant Prehistoric Hamsters. Last but certainly not least one of the best paragliding sites in the world is only two hours away. Go fly there with the Manilla Sky Sailors!
Enjoy your visit!
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