History
The name commemorates Charles Rooking Carter, who gifted his estate to what later became the Royal Society of New Zealand for the purposes of establishing an astronomical observatory in or near Wellington. Parliament established the Carter Observatory in 1937; it opened in 1941, following some delays caused by the beginnings of World War II.
The observatory became a base for astronomical research in New Zealand. Research began with solar investigations and when new staff joined during the 1970s it expanded to variable stars, galaxies, comets and asteroids. The observatory has had formal research programmes and assists amateur astronomers to perform their own research.
The Carter Observatory became New Zealand's National Observatory in 1977. In recent years, its role "shifted from a focus on research to increasingly concentrate on public education about space".
The Ministry of Research, Science and Technology commissioned astronomer Professor Mike Bessell, Australian National University, to review Carter Observatory’s ability to carry out its functions as New Zealand's National Observatory, to explore New Zealand’s requirements and the opportunities in the National Observatory area, and assess the roles of the various players within the sector. Professor Bessell's report was published in February 2005.
Read more about this topic: Carter Observatory
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“Classes struggle, some classes triumph, others are eliminated. Such is history; such is the history of civilization for thousands of years.”
—Mao Zedong (1893–1976)
“In nature, all is useful, all is beautiful. It is therefore beautiful, because it is alive, moving, reproductive; it is therefore useful, because it is symmetrical and fair. Beauty will not come at the call of a legislature, nor will it repeat in England or America its history in Greece. It will come, as always, unannounced, and spring up between the feet of brave and earnest men.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“Regarding History as the slaughter-bench at which the happiness of peoples, the wisdom of States, and the virtue of individuals have been victimized—the question involuntarily arises—to what principle, to what final aim these enormous sacrifices have been offered.”
—Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770–1831)