Beyond Southern Skies

This book tells the story of the planning and construction of the Parkes Telescope in rural New South Wales, Australia, and surveys its achievements over the past thirty years.

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Beyond Southern Skies tells the story of the planning and construction of the Parkes Telescope in rural New South Wales, Australia, and surveys its achievements over the past thirty years. Radio astronomy in Australia had its origins in the secret radar research that was carried out during World War II by CSIRO's Radiophysics Laboratory in Sydney. This research group grew to be the largest and most diversified of its kind, and the giant dish at Parkes became a powerful symbol of the growing confidence among Australian scientists. Readers will be fascinated by Peter Robertson's lively account of the personalities, politics and controversy that lay behind the decision to build the Parkes Telescope. This book also gives an accessible description of the technical achievements of the telescope since its completion in 1961 and discusses its contributions to our understanding of the universe.