Antimony Observat0ry was established in 2022 when Professor Brian Boyle retired to the beautiful Gibbston region of Otago.   

 

The observatory comprises a number of telescopes and cameras for imaging the night sky. It also has an astrophotography art gallery and interpretative centre for the Kawaru Gibbston International Dark Sky Park in which the observatory lies.  The most recent addtion is the Garden of Time, a collection of unique sundials  on the observatory lawn.

 

Brian was a professional astronomer for 35 years, spending much of that time in Sydney, Australia.  He was the Director of the largest optical and radio telescopes in Australia and was also part of the Supernova Cosmology Project team which discovered the acceleration of the Universe in 1998; contributing towards the evidence for the existence of Dark Energy.

A more extensive biography can be found here. 

 

Since coming to New Zealand Brian has chanelled his passion for astronomy and communication into the creation of this observatory, which is open to the public for tours both day and night. 

 

The observatory and the 2ha vineyard in which it lies, is named after the prominent mountain saddle (Antimony Saddle) to the south-east of the vineyard. At 380m above sea level, on a gentle north-facing slope, the vineyard also produces a premium Gibbston Pinot Noir.