ANU welcomes access to telescopes at premier site

Australia's participation in multinational collaborations like the partnership with ESO, and the GMT and SKA projects, will advance our scientific and industrial capabilities. ANU has welcomed the announcement in the federal Budget that the Australian astronomy community will gain access to telescopes in Chile through a 10-year strategic partnership with the European Southern Observatory (ESO). The Australian Government committed $26.1 million to enable Australia to enter an agreement with ESO from 2018 to maintain Australia's optical astronomical research that helps to advance humanity's understanding of the Universe. The commitment also includes ongoing average funding of $12 million a year until 2027-28. ANU, Astronomy Australia Limited and other national research institutions have for several years identified a critical need for Australian astronomers to have access to large optical telescopes through an international partnership. ANU Vice-Chancellor and Nobel Laureate Professor Brian Schmidt said access to ESO's facilities and other infrastructure such as the next-generation Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) and Square Kilometre Array (SKA) radio telescope is critical to the future of Australian astronomy. "Australia's participation in multinational collaborations like the partnership with ESO, and the GMT and SKA projects, will advance our scientific and industrial capabilities," Professor Schmidt said.