Rodney Reserve, on the cliff tops at Dover
Heights in the eastern suburbs of Sydney, was one of the most remarkable and
important astronomical sites in New South Wales. The photograph above shows
the now fading old plaque placed by ATNF in 1989. The plaque shows the
12-element Yagi which replaced the previous 1951 8-element Yagi antenna. The
identification of the bright radio sources Taurus A, Cen A, and Virgo A was
made in 1949 with an even earlier (but less photogenic) antenna. A replica
of the 8-element Yagi antenna used in 1951 was installed on the cliff top
next to the original mount in 2003. For more information go to Radio Astronomy at
Dover Heights.
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