University of Canterbury Mount John Observatory (UCMJO), previously known as Mt John University Observatory (MJUO), is New Zealand's premier astronomical research observatory. It is situated at 1,029 metres (3,376 ft) ASL atop Mount John at the northern end of the Mackenzie Basin in the South Island, and was established in 1965. There are many telescopes on site including: one 0.4 metre, two 0.6 metre, one 1.0 metre, and a 1.8 metre MOA telescope. The nearest population centre is the resort town of Lake Tekapo (pop. >500). Approximately 20% of nights at UCMJO are photometric, with a larger number available for spectroscopic work and direct imaging photometry.