It’s been 50 years the man landed on the moon and if you have ever watched the movie “The Dish” and loved it as much as I did, sure Parkes would be on your list of places to visit to see the amazing antenna.
I took a weekday drive to Parkes, NSW. From Sydney it is around a 5 hour trip West. On the way, I had to stop and drive the iconic Australian race track of Mount Panorama. I do get to say made me respect the race car drivers more than ever since it is a very tricky course.
As I arrived, Parkes surprised me since it was bigger than I expected. I had to drive directly to see The Dish (Parkes Observatory). Even if it was closed, I wanted to check if there were any spots to take good photos. I found that a couple of kilometers past the actual location would be great and I had plans to come back later in the night to try some astrophotography.
After I checked in I had to find a pub for dinner. The Coachman Hotel sounded like the place, the food was great, and we even stayed a bit for the obligatory meat raffle before we dropped dead for the day. When the alarm went off, telling me time to go for astrophoto I opened the window and it was clouded out! š So, back to bed.
Next morning I went back to The Dish for an exploration. The place is fantastic, and I was on a good day since the dish was off for repair, so it was pointing up. Something if you going to photograph to look for since the tall trees around the area could hide part of it depending on the angle.
The fact that the Dish played a part on the transmission of the images of Armstrongās first steps on the moon still boggles me. Parkes was no Silicon Valley 50 years ago.
Did you know the antenna weights more than 2 Boing 737 combined? And the dish is not fixed to the top of its tower, but just sits on it? There are lots to learn during a visit. The Parkes Observatory still involved in a number of NASA and Space mission and projects so there is always something new happening.
Don’t go expecting to play cricket on The Dish. It is not possible or allowed.
Besides the Observatory, Parkes is well known for the annual Elvis Festival that lasts a week every January. So
It was a quick trip to Parkes, but I do plan to come back with more time. The region has lots of promising photographing spots.
Funny enough, a few months later I visited the Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex and the Kennedy Space Center, but I will tell you those stories another time.
To keep updated with what’s on in Parkes visit https://visitparkes.com.au/
I’m Mrs Mitchell and in the last few years, I have been blessed to be able to explore and photograph some interesting place. I thought I share my experience and someĀ tips with editing etc.