WELLINGTON CITY OBSERVATORY.

Evening Post, Volume CXI, Issue 119, 22 May 1931, Page 4

WELLINGTON CITY OBSERVATORY.

Last Saturday evening a large number of visitors to the Wellington. City Observatory were very fortunate in having a clear sky in which to observe objects of interest through the 9in Cooke refracting telescope. It was perfectly plain through this instrument that a great variety of stellar objects can be seen in the southern skies. While to most people all the stars look single, yet a glance through tho telescope showed that not only double and triple ?tais existed, but also groups or clusters of stars. These clusters exhibit many forms. The Jewel Casket in the Southern Cross consists of stara having many delicate colours, so delicate, in fact, that it is a test for colour sense, but once seen the sight is never forgotten. On the other haudi looking into space 22,000 light-years away, the visitor saw the noted Omega Centauri cluster, consisting of thousands of faint stars strewn like small rice grains on a black velvet background^ The Milky Way was also resolved into innumerable faint stars. The Observatory will be again open to the public to-morrow night, at 7.30 o'clock, providing the weather conditions are suitable The Obfcrvatory is ;n tlie Botanical Gardens, and is accessible by means of the Kelburn cable car. A small charge is made for admission.