James Dunlop FRSE (31 October 1793 – 22 September 1848) was a Scottish astronomer, noted for his work in Australia. He was employed by Sir Thomas Brisbane to work as astronomer's assistant at his private observatory, once located at Paramatta (now named Parramatta), New South Wales, about 23 kilometres (14 mi) west of Sydney during the 1820s and 1830s. Dunlop was mostly a visual observer, doing stellar astrometry work for Brisbane, and after its completion, then independently discovered and catalogued many new telescopic southern double stars and deep-sky objects. He later became the Superintendent of Paramatta Observatory when it was finally sold to the New South Wales Government.
>>>PUT SHARE BUTTONS HERE<<<
In this Dossier
Parramatta in the context of Greater Western Sydney
Greater Western Sydney (GWS) is a large region of the metropolitan area of Greater Sydney, New South Wales (NSW), Australia that generally embraces the north-west, south-west, central-west, far western and the Blue Mountains sub-regions within Sydney's metropolitan area and encompasses 11 local government areas: Blacktown, Blue Mountains, Camden, Campbelltown, Cumberland, Fairfield, Hawkesbury, Liverpool, Parramatta, Penrith and Wollondilly. It includes Western Sydney, which has a number of different definitions, although the one consistently used is the region composed of ten local government authorities, most of which are members of the Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils (WSROC). The NSW Government's Office of Western Sydney calls the region "Greater Western Sydney".
Radiocarbon dating suggests human activity occurred in the Sydney metropolitan area from around 30,000 years ago. The Darug people lived in the area that was greater western Sydney before European settlement regarded the region as rich in food from the river and forests. Parramatta was founded in 1788, the same year as Sydney, making it the second oldest city in Australia. Opened in 1811, Parramatta Road, which navigates into the heart of greater western Sydney, is one of Sydney's oldest roads and Australia's first highway between two cities – Sydney central business district (CBD) and Parramatta, which is now the sixth largest business district in Australia. Rapid population increase after World War II saw the settlement of many ex-service men and migrants in the greater west, making it one of the most urbanised regions in the country and an area of growing national importance.
Parramatta in the context of Centaurus A
Centaurus A (also known as NGC 5128 or Caldwell 77) is a galaxy in the constellation of Centaurus. It was discovered in 1826 by Scottish astronomer James Dunlop from his home in Parramatta, in New South Wales, Australia. There is considerable debate in the literature regarding the galaxy's fundamental properties such as its Hubble type (lenticular galaxy or a giant elliptical galaxy) and distance (11–13 million light-years). It is the closest radio galaxy to Earth, as well as the closest BL Lac object, so its active galactic nucleus has been extensively studied by professional astronomers. The galaxy is also the fifth-brightest in the sky, making it an ideal amateur astronomy target. It is only visible from the southern hemisphere and low northern latitudes.
The center of the galaxy contains a supermassive black hole with a mass of 55 million solar masses, which ejects a relativistic jet that is responsible for emissions in the X-ray and radio wavelengths. By taking radio observations of the jet separated by a decade, astronomers have determined that the inner parts of the jet are moving at about half of the speed of light. X-rays are produced farther out as the jet collides with surrounding gases, resulting in the creation of highly energetic particles. The X-ray jets of Centaurus A are thousands of light-years long, while the radio jets are over a million light-years long.
Parramatta in the context of Great Western Highway
Great Western Highway is a 202-kilometre-long (126Â mi) state highway in New South Wales, Australia. From east to west, the highway links Sydney with Bathurst, on the state's Central Tablelands. The highway also has local road names between the Sydney city centre and Parramatta, being: Broadway from Haymarket to Chippendale, Parramatta Road from Chippendale to Parramatta, and Church Street through Parramatta.
Parramatta in the context of Marrong Reserve
Marrong Reserve, also called Pemulwuy Lookout and Ridgeline Reserve, is a nature reserve, an urban park and a recreational lookout situated in Western Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. J-shaped, the reserve is located approximately 9 kilometres (5.6Â mi) kilometers west of the Parramatta, and 33 kilometres (21Â mi) north-west of the Sydney CBD. Due to its cultural and historic landscape importance, Mar-Rong Reserve was added to the NSW State Heritage Register on 17 October 2003. The reserve is visited for walking, exercising, natural scenery, picturesque views, birdwatching, ball games, and bush tucker.
Mostly aligned with Daruga Avenue at Pemulwuy and stretching to Lower Prospect Canal Reserve in the south, the reserve features a panoramic viewpoint that provides views of the Sydney skyline and the Blue Mountains. It is a popular vantage point for the New Year's Eve and Australia Day fireworks. Educational and interpretive information is present within the Reserve. Much of the reserve, excluding the parkland areas, is categorised as Natural Area-Bushland. Marrong Reserve and Prospect Hill are closely connected as a ridge, but are separated at a saddle by Butu Wargun Drive. The reserve features three precincts, which run from north to south: Marrong Reserve North, Marrong Reserve 'Saddle Bund' and Marrong Reserve South.