Come join us for a 90-minute tour of the wonders of the southern night sky.
From 2007 visitors will get to use our 30" (76cm) telescope - the LARGEST TELESCOPE in REGULAR PUBLIC use in the
SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE!
Objects viewed with the large telescopes in our public astronomy facility may
include (depending on the time of year, phase of the Moon etc):
- the Moon,
- Jupiter,
- Saturn,
- Mars,
- Venus,
- star clusters,
- nebulae and galaxies.
Other experiences can involve spotting satellites and meteors, recognising
constellations as well as general, or specific, astronomy computer presentations.
Generally, the four largest telescopes
of our public viewing facility are used on star viewing nights.
Additional
details for TEACHERS.
Further rules and conditions.
We conduct two types of star viewing sessions:
- Night Sky Explorer Nights, and
- and Deep Sky Nights.
Night Sky Explorer sessions have the Moon on view
whereas there is no Moon for Deep Sky Nights and there more of an emphasis
on viewing fainter objects.
For visitors wanting a longer visit we also conduct
extended viewing nights.
Note: In cloudy weather conditions we may need to more emphasize the
astronomy computer presentation component.
BOOKING IS ESSENTIAL - phone 9293 8255. (Contact and location details
here.)
A travel writer's perspective
For an independent 'review' of the Observatory's star viewing nights read this story (pdf 1.1MB)
by Sunday Times journalist Bruce Christie.
Testimonials
Comments from our visitors.
Disabled Access
Generous assistance from the Perth Observatory Volunteer Group and LotteryWest
facilitated the acquisition of a telescope that can be easily maneuvered
to provide a view of the stars while providing easy access to suit
viewers of different ability. Provision of this facility won a disabled
access award for the Observatory in 2004.
PLEASE TELL THE STAFF ABOUT YOUR PARTICULAR NEEDS AT THE TIME OF BOOKING SO THAT
THE APPROPRIATE FACILITIES CAN BE MADE READY FOR YOUR VISIT.
Activities Calendar
View our September 2009 - August 2010 activities calendar (pdf 50kB).
View the full September 2009 - August 2010 activities brochure (pdf 225kB).
