Mount John Observatory and two famous star-gazers

I had the great good fortune to meet, and stay with, two New Zealand star-gazers who have recently been honoured with their own postage stamps as part of the Space Pioneers release this year.

Alan Gilmore and Pamela Kilmartin are 'retired' staff members of University of Canterbury's Physics and Astronomy department and have been observers at the Mount John Observatory, Tekapo, since 1980. They are Fellows of the Royal Astronomical Society of New Zealand and track Near Earth Objects (NEOs) such as asteroids and comets that may be a long-term threat to Earth. Together they have discovered 41 minor planets, a comet and a nova.

They help astronomers around the world to determine the orbits of objects passing near the Earth, objects that usually come from the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.

Alan and Pam work with the country's second-largest telescope, the one metre McLellan Reflector which was built by the University's workshops and installed at the observatory in 1986.

Alan works the telescope while Pam handles the image processing and measurements. After photos are taken, spectroscopy is by fibre-optic cable to the HERCULES spectrograph.

They may be officially retired but they are still working, being given time on the telescope to continue to assist the global network of scientists in Arizona and Hawaii who discover objects and report them, to be followed up by observers such as Alan and Pam who can check positions, trajectories and help others estimate size of these flying objects.

We can image NEOs to 22nd magnitude, a millionth of the brightness of the faintest star seen by the naked eye,” says Alan.

Alan kindly took me up to the observatory to check out the 1m reflecting telescope they normally work on but also NZ's largest telescope, the 1.8m prime focus reflector which is housed in a separate building. In total there are 5 telescopes at Mount John.

Alan prepares start charts to help amateur astronomers, welcomes university visitors to the Observatory, contributes articles and attends conferences with Pam.

The night I stayed with them, the weather was not cooperative and so I couldn't see the glorious Milky Way through the thick cloud overhead. Such a shame. What stars I did see through their home telescope were really just pinpricks. I learned to recognise the Southern Cross constellation which appears on the NZ flag. We had a lively discussion on science topics over dinner. It was a fun and intellectually stimulating short visit.

Most of their observatory activity requires working the night shift. The couple, who have been married for 45 years, say they are too busy working together to feel lonely in this remote part of the South Island.

They are planning to build themselves a modest home observatory outside their house. How marvellous to have work you love and can continue to do for as long as you wish, and how equally wonderful to be able to work and play throughout your life with your spouse. https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/114089405/moon-landing-50th-anniversary-small-steps-giant-leaps-and-a-marriage-spent-gazing-at-the-stars

There's a beauty in Tekapo, despite the cold temperatures and wind at times and recently an antique telescope has been installed  in the Tekapo township as a visitor attraction. Ski fields are nearby and there are plenty of places to go for a walk. Mount Cook is an easy drive from here.

The stamp which features Alan and Pam is part of a set recognising six famous space pioneers in their fields. Alan and Pam were surprised to be included among such illustrious and famous NZ astronomers, cosmologists, and rocket scientists such as Beatrice Tinsley, Charles Gifford, Albert Jones OBE, and Sir William Pickering, but they tend to be a modest couple.

 I popped into NZ Post to buy a set of stamps but I'd advise you to buy these stamps online as many post shops have run out. This 2019 stamp release coincides with the anniversary this year of the Apollo 11 Moon Landings.

Together, the stamps form a 5-stamp se-tenant rocket-shaped strip very cleverly designed. The stamps are sprinkled with real star dust collected from a meteorite found in Morocco. https://stamps.nzpost.co.nz/new-zealand/2019/space-pioneers

Photos show me outside the largest telescope's housing braving a cold wind, Alan in front of the 1.8m telescope, me by the 1m, the township of Lake Tekapo in the South Island of New Zealand.