Mount Kent Observatory
Mount Kent Observatory near Toowoomba, in the Darling Downs region of Queensland, Australia, is an observatory owned and operated by the University of Southern Queensland (USQ). It is the only professional astronomical research observatory in the state of Queensland. Mount Kent hosts the four MINERVA-Australis exoplanet-finding telescopes, three SONG telescopes for asteroseismology and stellar astrophysics, two 'Shared Skies' telescopes, and a USQ-Louisville telescope. It is also used for teaching USQ students, and is part of a 'Shared Skies Partnership' with the University of Louisville's Moore Observatory, Kentucky. History In the 1980s a dark sky site was established at Mount Kent and used for teaching purposes by USQ. By 2009 the facilities had grown to include three telescopes: the Webb, O'Mara, and Louisville telescopes. The observatory was significantly expanded beginning in 2016 with the establishment of MINERVA-Australis, funded by USQ, the Federal Government, the Australian Research Council, the University of New South Wales and the University of Sydney. It was opened by Minister for Industry, Science and Technology Karen Andrews and USQ Vice-Chancellor Professor Geraldine Mackenzie in March 2019. The asteroid 11927 Mount Kent, which was discovered in 1993, is named after the observatory. Telescopes MINERVA-Australis is an array of four