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