Hundreds of people have attended the Alice Prize exhibition in Alice Springs to view a rare image of Pine Gap, the joint US-Australian spy base located just 18 kilometres out of town.

Key points: Photo of joint US-Australian spy base at Pine Gap shown to public

Photo of joint US-Australian spy base at Pine Gap shown to public Taking photos of the base and publishing them is illegal

Taking photos of the base and publishing them is illegal Researchers say photo has shed new light on operations at the base

Melbourne-based photographer Kristian Laemmle-Ruff was cautious about giving away too much detail about where, when and how the pictures were taken.

Taking photos of the secret base and publishing them is illegal, and Laemmle-Ruff said he deliberated whether to release the photos for two years before deciding it was in the public interest.

He decided to publish them in conjunction with the security research organisation, the Nautilus Institute.

"I knew this image needed to be released, and that people needed to talk about Pine Gap and what it's doing," Laemmle-Ruff said.

Professor Richard Tanter from the Nautilus Institute said with the information they knew about Pine Gap, it was arguably the most important intelligence operation outside the United States.

He said for that reason, the base was a target to adversaries of the United States.

"I think really the time has come for Australians to really think about whether we really can live with Pine Gap any longer," Professor Tanter said.

"Whether it's compatible with our national sovereignty, whether its compatible with our obligations under international law and really whether its in our interest."

Photograph reveals information about the base's operations

Laemmle-Ruff's detailed photos of Pine Gap have helped researchers uncover new information about the operations at the base.

The artwork is a Duratran print in a blackwood lightbox. ( ABC News: Shuba Krishnan )

Professor Tanter said the detail in the shots gave researchers a level of certainty in their mapping they had not had before.

"Because of their remarkable detail and clarity, [the photographs] gave us clear information on about 30 antennas at the base, their timing, and what they were doing," he said.

The Nautilus Institute was able to map dozens of dishes, radar domes, and antennas at the base.

Their latest research revealed the base had more than doubled in size, and played a significant role in major American intelligence operations.

Base a source of ongoing intrigue

The top-secret defence base has intrigued locals since it was established almost half a century ago.

One art enthusiast, Robyn Delaney, said the image was beautiful because it was something outsiders rarely got the opportunity to see.

"For Alice Springs people Pine Gap has been here since forever, people have different attitudes towards it, but we don't know very much about it," Ms Delaney said.

Laemmle-Ruff used a metre-wide light-box to illuminate the landscape panoramic picture.

In the centre of the work are Pine Gap's prominent golf ball-like domes, which are used to shield the direction the satellite's dishes are facing.

Another art goer, Audrey Tate, said she could not believe the photograph of the highly controversial facility could win a prize.

"In 1983 I came up to Alice Springs and was involved in a women's demonstration to try and close that place down, and here we are in 2016 and it gets highly commended," she said.

Dugald Beatie said the photograph was fantastic and did not buy into the controversy of the intelligence base.

"I think it does a job, we don't know exactly what its doing, but its not doing any worse than any other government agency I don't think," he said.