Possum Observatory

Possum Observatory (IAU code: E94) is privately owned and operated by amateur astronomer John Drummond on a farm near the small settlement of Patutahi, 12km west of Gisborne City, New Zealand.

It is a 4.3 x 4.1m rotating observatory, using a pea combine harvester ring as its base. The primary instrument on site is a 16" f4.5 Meade Starfinder Newtonian reflector. Other instruments include an 80mm (3.15") f5 refractor, a 200mm (8") f4 Vixen Newtonian reflector, and a 410mm (16") f4.5 Meade StarFinder Dobsonian reflector.

The observatory provided the first independent confirmation of the discovery of Comet Lovejoy.
 
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