Dark Sky Australia

19/10/2024

Saw the Atlas A3 comet (no photo) with the kids tonight, Saturn and globular star cluster (47 Tucanae) thrown in. Then a starlink train went through 😎

31/05/2024

Fabulous news and so close by!

Exciting news! We are delighted to announce that Carrickalinga is Australia’s first International Dark Sky Community!

Located along the Fleurieu Peninsula of South Australia, Carrickalinga is famed for its white sandy beaches, clear waters, and rich wildlife. The town's pristine night skies inspired locals to achieve Dark Sky Place accreditation, upgrade street lighting, and initiate educational programs on light pollution. The community hosts regular dark sky events featuring stargazing and First Nations stories.

Though once a hidden gem, Carrickalinga is gaining popularity. Visitors can enjoy multicultural night sky tours blending traditional and modern astronomy with resources provided by the District Council of Yankalilla. To learn more about Carrickalinga’s efforts to become a Dark Sky Community, visit https://bit.ly/4e3P0Ms

24/05/2024

In less than 2 weeks I’ll be sleeping rough to support Food on the Table. I’m still a long way from my goal. Please consider supporting their great work with me as we approach the cold hungry nights ahead ❤️

Soup & Sleep : Make a donation today to support Soup & Sleep

11/05/2024

Success! Amazing Southern Lights tonight. 🤩

11/05/2024

There’s a solar storm in progress. We just snapped this beauty. There have been reports of the southern lights being seen/photographed last night. Might be worth a look tonight as well. Good luck! 😎

(CAUTION: special equipment used! It goes without saying you should not look at or photograph the sun without specialised knowledge and equipment).

22/04/2023

Moon and Venus. Glorious night

07/04/2023

Only Voyager 2 in the 1980s and Keck (with adaptive optics) have imaged Uranus' rings before, and they've never been this clear. NASA's James Webb Space Telescope highlights atmospheric features and 11 of its 13 rings:

Following in the footsteps of the Neptune image released in 2022, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has taken a stunning image of the solar system’s other ice giant, the planet Uranus. The new image features dramatic rings as well as bright features in the planet’s atmosphere.

07/04/2023

"We looked into the very early universe for the first time and had no idea what we were going to find," Leja added. "It turns out we found something so unexpected it actually creates problems for science. It calls the whole picture of early galaxy formation into question."

The James Webb Space Telescope revealed galaxies from more than 13 billion years ago that seem to be as mature as the Milky Way is now: "Something so unexpected it actually creates problems for science."

02/10/2022

Amazing Friday and Saturday skies made great viewing in our first sessions of the season. Check out this glorious shot of the Sculptor Galaxy! Thank you to Rachael, Kristy, Di, Bernie (and your family and friends) for coming along

04/09/2022

We really enjoyed breaking out the telescopes for the annual School of the Nativity sleepout. It was a tough gig to follow the fire truck display(!) but the children got some great views of the Moon, Saturn and Jupiter. We also took a few photos of nebulae and a star cluster. Great fun 🤩

29/08/2022

UPDATE 3. Back for repairs :( We look forward to a future launch.

UPDATE 2: Take 2 at 3:17am(!) Sunday morning. Alarm set for the perfect start to Fathers’ day 🚀

UPDATE: MISSION SCRUBBED. Engineers ran out of time to fix a fuel/temperature issue. Better safe than sorry. The next launch window is on Friday if they can resolve the issue.

Artemis I is scheduled for launch tonight from 10pm (2 hour launch window). The first step towards building a base on the moon!

Watch our mega Moon rocket NASA's Space Launch System get fueled up for launch. Follow NASA's Exploration Ground Systems for updates on propellant loading in preparation for the I liftoff from NASA's Kennedy Space Center. www.nasa.gov/live

19/07/2022

The James Webb first images are in..... just wow!

The dawn of a new era in astronomy has begun as the world gets its first look at the full capabilities of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, a partnership with ESA (European Space Agency) and CSA (Canadian Space Agency).

15/07/2022

The human mind just can’t grasp the vastness of space…

Speaking on the James Webb space telescope’s first image:
NASA administrator Bill Nelson gave an insight into the scale of the cluster when the image was released on Monday.

"If you held a grain of sand on the tip of your finger at arm's length, that is the part of the universe you are seeing.

"It's just a tiny sliver of the vast universe."
The deepest view of the cosmos was the first image released from Webb, providing a glittering view of stars and galaxies from about 4.6 billion years ago — the farthest humanity has ever seen in time and distance.

11/04/2022

The mind boggles. What will we find with something a hundred times bigger than the Hubble???!??

What if there was a way to make a telescope 10 times – or even 100 times – bigger than before?

09/04/2022

A fantastically clear night here in SA produced these stunning images. Alpha Centauri (globular star cluster) and the edge on Sombrero Galaxy. Just wow 🤩

13/01/2022

What an achievement. Who knows what we are about to discover! 🚀

09/01/2022

450 x 4 second exposure photographs stacked to reveal the Horsehead Nebula. Happy new year!

21/12/2021

Clear skies and a comet. What a week!
Merry Christmas!