Farm Cove Observatory
(FCO) is a privately owned and operated observatory conducting astronomical
research for the Centre for Backyard Astrophysics (CBA),
Microlensing Follow Up Network (MicroFUN) at The Ohio
State University Astronomy Department and regular comet
and asteroid astrometry.
FCO was built in 1999 and
sits on the western side of the Wakaaranga reserve which
is a tributary of the Tamaki River. The observatory gets
its name from Farm Cove, an eastern suburb of Auckland,
New Zealand
some 25kms from the heart of the Auckland city centre.
Auckland boasts three harbours, two mountain ranges, 48
volcanic cones and more than 50 islands. It has a
population of approximately 1.3 million and is ever
increasing. |