• This page lists the dates for those who want to observe a dark, Starry night sky without interfering moonlight.

• These nights are more suitable for high school, Uni and matured age visitors.
  

• Bookings essential.. Phone 4164  6194  between 9am and 6pm 7 days a week or EMAIL your booking Here
  

• We can seat up to 40 persons on the Observation Deck.
  

• We even supply blankets to keep you warm! Because you will be sitting for the duration of the night show, it can get a bit chilly, hence the blankets.
  Don't wear jeans as they are cotton and will absorb the cold air. Keeping your feet, hands and head covered your whole body will be warm

• Night shows start at 7.30pm between Sept 1 - Feb 28, and 7pm between March 1 - August 31.

• If you want to view the Moon click here----> Moon

• Dates maked in RED are the best times to see the Southern Milky Way stars!
  

2012 Starry Night dates

Feb     11 - 28           Venus + Jupiter + Deep Sky objects as above

Mar     13 - 28                 Mars

Apr     11 - 27                as above

May    10 - 26                as above

Jun    09 - 24 as above  plus the beautiful Milky Way with 100's of star clusters, nebulae, and lots lot more...

Jul     08 - 24 as above  This is even a better time to see more of the above!

Aug    07 - 23 Mars & Saturn and the Milky Way.

Sep    06 - 21           Mars + Deep Sky objects - star clusters, nebulae, galaxies, coloured and binary stars, etc.

Oct     05 - 21                          as above

Nov    04 - 09            Jupiter  + Deep Sky objects  

Dec    03 - 19                           as above

If you think our Sun and Solar System is big, take a look at the photo at left.

These images are no exaggerations. They are based on actual measurements taken by ground and orbiting telescopes.

VY Canis Majoris is probably as big as the entire Solar System!

Once the Hubble Space Telescope is replaced in 2015 with the James Webb Space Telescope, that telescope will reach deeper into the timeless abyss and who knows, discovery more planets and even bigger stars than VY Canis Majoris.

The only star that can be seen as disc is our Sun. It's the cloest star to Earth and one of the smallest stars in the galaxy.

Our sun has about another 4.5 billion years of life left in it, before it turns into a red giant that will engulf the Solar System..

Situated ~50,000 light years away lies the hub of our galaxy. In our galaxy there are as many stars as on grains of sand on  beach.

Best months to see the Milky Way is between May - August.

The reason we don't see the Milky Way all year round is because the Earth in its journey around the Sun, the shadow of the Earth faces either into, or away from the Milky Way galaxy.

So between March 22 and Sept. 22 at night we 'look into' the Milky Way and between Sept. 22 to March 22 we are on the other side of the Sun and at night we 'look ou't towards the outer rim of the Milky Way galaxy. Hence the lack of stars we normally see in the Autumn - Winter period.

Globuar Cluster - NGC 5139 - Omega Centauri...

Omega Centauri is the Southern hemisphere's best known and viewed globular cluster.

Best time to view this is between April to September each year, with July and August being the best months.

You will need a telescopes of 8" or larger aperture and rural dark skies to see this magnificent object in all its glory.

Photo by James Barclay