Parkes Observatory
Parkes Observatory is an astronomical observatory that is part of the Australia Telescope National Facility and is operated by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation. It is listed on the Australian National Heritage List. This site is one of the 62 sights in Australia featured here and is the 43rd most looked-up sight in the country on English Wikipedia.
Planning a visit
Visitors can choose between warmer or cooler weather depending on the time of year. January and February are the warmest months, with daily highs of 30 °C and lows between 18 °C and 19 °C. April and October provide moderate weather, with daily highs of 22 °C. The coldest month is July, with a high of 13 °C and a low of 5 °C. Rainfall is distributed throughout the year, with between 4 and 9 rainy days per month. The highest rainfall occurs in November with 55 mm and July with 54 mm.
The observatory is located in Parkes, New South Wales. It is 15 km from Parkes Airport (PKE). For those traveling from larger hubs, the site is 290 km from Sydney Kingsford Smith International Airport (SYD) and 267 km from the capital, Canberra.
Weather by month
The warmest month is January, with an average high of 31 °C. Rain is spread fairly evenly through the year.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average high, °C | 31 | 30 | 27 | 22 | 18 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 18 | 22 | 25 | 28 |
| Average low, °C | 19 | 18 | 16 | 12 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 11 | 14 | 17 |
| Rainfall, mm | 43 | 50 | 43 | 37 | 40 | 50 | 54 | 46 | 42 | 47 | 55 | 52 |
| Rainy days | 9 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 8 | 7 |
Temperatures and rainfall: 1981–2010 averages for this spot (4 km grid), from CHELSA. Rainy days: 2015–2024, NASA POWER.
