This 14 metre telescope is located at the Mt Pleasant Observatory in the Coal River Valley region of Southern Tasmania Australia. The telescope was built by the University of Tasmania Physics Department in 1981 specifically to study the Vela Pulsar and did so for over 20 years. Research into the Vela Pulsar continues today using the nearby larger, more powerful 26 metre telescope. The supernova that formed the Vela Pulsar exploded over 10,000 years ago and is located approximately 1,000 light-years away in the constellation Vela. It was discovered by Australian astronomers in 1968 and is the brightest pulsar in the southern sky.