An astronomer greets visitors to a science museum in Canberra, Australia. He’s made of riveted iron plates, and he stands atop a wide ring, gazing skyward through a smaller ring in his right hand. He’s the last remnant of an historic telescope that was destroyed in a massive wildfire.

The fire blazed across Australia in January of 2003. It destroyed most of Mount Stromlo Observatory, one of the major astronomy research centers in the southern hemisphere. The fire consumed five telescopes, plus a laboratory where scientists and engineers built astronomical instruments.

One of the casualties was the Yale-Columbia Telescope. It was a 26-inch refractor – a type of telescope that uses lenses to gather and focus starlight. It was built in 1924, and had been operating at Mount Stromlo for half a century. Astronomers had used it to measure the distances to stars, to study double stars, and more.

After the fire, an Australian science institute commissioned a sculptor, Tim Wetherell, to create an artwork from the telescope’s remains. The result was “The Astronomer” – the piece on display in Canberra.

The figure stands on a setting circle – a wide ring that indicated where the telescope was pointing. It has numbers at 10-degree intervals, from zero to 180. The astronomer is holding a smaller version of the ring in his hand – continuing to look at the stars long after the telescope’s demise.

Script by Damond Benningfield