Bush fires that had been on the horizon the day before were now rapidly approaching. That afternoon, from her home some miles away, Dr. Sackett watched burning embers fall from a smoky sky and worried. The fires also destroyed 500 homes across greater Canberra, and killed four people. The incident was an early warning for astronomy: Wildfires, exacerbated by climate change, were becoming a problem for their field. Since then, several other observatories have been damaged or threatened by fires and other extreme weather, and changing atmospheric conditions have made ground-based astronomical research more challenging.

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Persons: Penny Sackett, . Sackett Organizations: Australian Locations: Stromlo, Canberra