Observatory
The Heights School is the home of The Heights Astronomical Observatory which consists of two observatory buildings.
The Emanuel Papaelia Observatory consists of a 5 metre dome containing a 14-inch (355mm) Meade LX200 ACF Schmidt Cassegrain reflecting telescope acquired in 2011. It can be computer controlled, and is used visually for Public Viewing Nights. The School's student STAR Group uses the telescope both visually and for astrophotography. The ground level of the observatory building includes an official seismic recording station operated by the Department of Primary Industries and Resources.
The Ingham Family Rooms is a roll-off roof building that doubles as a classroom for STAR Group students studying astronomy. It contains a sophisticated, high end 12.5" Ritchey–Chrétien design reflector from Optical Guidance Systems acquired in 2012, which features a carbon fibre tube, zero expansion ceramic mirror and a motorised secondary mirror for computer-aided focussing. This telescope is mounted on a Losmandy HGM 200 mount, and uses the Losmandy Gemini Control system for automated tracking.
The Observatory also holds a number of portable, non-tracking telescopes, in particular a 16-inch Meade Lightbridge Dobsonian.
The Astronomical Society of South Australia holds public viewing nights at the Heights Observatory once a month.
Students from the school are actively involved with the observatory, with the STAR (Students Thinking with Astronomical Reasoning) Group meeting weekly at the observatory to observe and learn about Astronomy and Astrophysics.
The Heights Observatory is located at Lat 34.812488 S, Lon 138.682504 W
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“Where there is an observatory and a telescope, we expect that any eyes will see new worlds at once.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)