Nous apprenons que l'Observatoire Stromlo en Australie a été détruit par le feu. Heureusement on ne déplore pas de victimes.

Par contre tous les télescopes ont été détruits, les ateliers également, ce qui entraine la perte de l'instrument NIFS qui devrait etre bientot livre pour Gemini, de la station laser (ce qu'il en reste) et de la balise DORIS.

La majorité des bâtiments n'existent plus. Des informations peuvent être trouvées sur le site de l'Australian National University.

Commentaire de nos collègues "laséristes" australiens:

"I am happy to report that no Auslig [DNM] or EOS staff were injured. No tracking data or records were lost, and we have all data necessary to rebuild immediately. Stromlo should be back on the air by mid- 2003 from the same site - this was a 100-year fire and the damage was not due the site. The fires of the past 24 hours are the most destructive fires in Australia's history, and no site was safe.

Stromlo was constructed in 6 months. On behalf of the DNM and EOS teams involved at Mount Stromlo, I can assure our international colleagues that every effort will be made to beat this record in the reconstruction. Although the fires are still with us, we have the tracking facilities recovery effort already under way."

Transmis par Fabienne Casoli et Martine Feissel-Vernier