Overview
With generally low levels of light pollution, the Australian continent is ideally situated for astronomical observation of the southern skies.
Numerous ground-based observatories housing optical, radio and other telescopes are located throughout the country. These instruments provide crucial information for space exploration.
This issue includes three ground-based astronomical observatories and their historic or current optical telescopes.
Technical specifications
- Issue date
- 30 September 2025
- Issue withdrawal date
- 1 April 2026
- Denomination
- 3 x $1.70
- Stamp & product design
- Andrew Hogg Design
- Paper: gummed
- Tullis Russell 104gsm Red Phosphor/Blue PVA Stamp Paper
- Printer: gummed
- RA
- Printing process
- Offset lithography
- Stamp size (mm)
- 26 x 37.5
- Minisheet size (mm)
- 135 x 80
- Perforations
- 14.6 x 13.86
- Sheet layout
- Module of 50 (2 x 25)
- FDI postmark
- Sydney, NSW 2000
- FDI withdrawal date
- 29 October 2025
$1.70
Melbourne Observatory, Victoria
The Melbourne Observatory stands adjacent to the city’s Royal Botanic Gardens and commenced operation in 1863. Soon after, a 48-inch (120-centimetre) telescope, known as the Great Melbourne Telescope, was installed. At the time it was the largest fully steerable telescope in the world and participated in the global viewing of the transit of Venus in 1874.
The stamp shows a contemporary illustration of the Great Melbourne Telescope, currently under restoration, and an 1875 photograph of the Moon as seen through this telescope.
$1.70
Siding Spring Observatory, NSW
The Siding Spring Observatory opened in 1964 near Coonabarabran in New South Wales.
The observatory houses more than sixty telescopes, including the Anglo-Australian Telescope (AAT). With a 3.9-metre mirror it is the largest optical telescope in Australia.
It is equipped with a robotic spectrograph that can simultaneously observe hundreds of galaxies and stars and has also been used to carry out important southern sky surveys.
The stamp depicts the AAT and the Australian Astronomical Observatory at Siding Spring. The background shows the Orion Nebula as seen through the AAT.
$1.70
Sydney Observatory, NSW
The Sydney Observatory was opened in 1858 in Sydney suburb of Millers Point. The observatory was of crucial importance in Australia’s early scientific history and is today a working museum.
The stamp features the historic 29-cm refractor telescope, installed in 1874 and today the oldest telescope in Australia still in regular use. This telescope was used to view the 1874 Transit of Venus, with a detail from contemporary observations shown in the background.
