Overview
The Culgoora Solar Observatory is located 25 km west of the town of Narrabri,
in north-west New South Wales. The observatory conducts continuous optical and
radio observations of the sun every day of the year.
Observing instrumentation includes:
- a 12 cm solar telescope fitted with an hydrogen-alpha filter, used to
observe solar flares and other phenomena
- a 30 cm heliostat, used to observe sunspot evolution
- a solar radiospectrograph which sweeps through a frequency range of
18 - 1800 MHz every three seconds, used to monitor solar radio bursts
Regular reports and forecasts of solar activity are transmitted to the Australian
Space Forecast Centre in Sydney and are disseminated to similar organisations
internationally. Particularly significant solar outbursts are reported to a wide
range of interested parties around the world within minutes of their occurrence.
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Solar