“How far can you see?” is one of the most common questions I get asked when showing someone the night sky.

The Magellanic Clouds are named for the explorer Ferdinand Magellan who noted their presence in 1519.

Astronauts, looking out of the space station windows at night, see great clusters of lights; the glow of hundreds of thousands of individual lights that mark cities on earth.

Messier 15 or M15 is a globular cluster in the constellation Pegasus. It was included in Charles Messier's catalogue of comet-like objects in 1764

Spring is just around the corner, and with it, comes the promise of warmer evenings and clearer skies. And hopefully the opportunity to spend more time looking up!

Globular Cluster NGC 104 - Located in the far southern constellation of Tucana

The mid-winter Milky Way is still high overhead, and stars like Vega, Altair and Fomalhaut help to light the way on these cold nights. They will soon give way to the spring stars and constellations. Like our Sun, these stars are what astronomers refer to as Population I stars. Let’s explain that.

ESO138-29 - Colliding Galaxies in Ara Right Ascension: 17:29:12 Declination: -62:27:35

The centre of our galaxy, the Milky Way, is directly overhead during these cold winter evenings, and it is here, that we find one of the most prominent constellations.

The Ring Nebula, M57, is a planetary nebula in the northern constellation of Lyra

The winter Milky Way shines across the sky from east to west in a blaze of starlight.

Image—The VLT Survey Telescope at ESO's Paranal Observatory in Chile

The dominant constellation in our evening sky during autumn and winter is Scorpius, currently shining brightly in the eastern sky. Its brightest star, Antares, is a huge star of gargantuan proportions.

Messier 83 or M83 is a barred spiral galaxy approximately 15 million light-years away in the constellation borders of Hydra and Centaurus.

As you venture out these crisp autumn evenings for a look at the night sky, bid a fond farewell to our starry companions over summer, and welcome the stars that will become our friends during the frosty winter evenings ahead. Stars with names like Arcturus, Antares, Spica, and Regulus.

Spiral Galaxy in Dorado NGC 1566 is a spiral galaxy in the southern constellation of Dorado, the swordfish. It was discovered on May 28, 1826, by Scottish astronomer James Dunlop, observing from Paramatta Observatory in New South Wales. At 10th magnitude, it requires a telescope to view it.

It seems just like yesterday that we greeted the return of the summer stars to the evening sky, and here we are in March, getting ready to wave goodbye!!

The Beehive Cluster is an open cluster in the constellation Cancer.

During these warm February evenings, the summer Milky Way is visible directly overhead, running north-south across the sky. The evening sky is resplendent with many brilliant stars. From Capella in the north to the Pointers in the south, the sky is a sheer delight to explore.

NGC 2439—Open Star Cluster - Distance: 12,500 light years

We can think of our location in the universe along the lines of an address. The street would be planet Earth, the local government area would be the solar system, and the country would be the Milky Way Galaxy.

Distance: 6,500 light years

All the stars we see in the night sky belong to our Milky Way galaxy. However, there are some objects outside of the Milky Way galaxy that can be seen quite clearly with no or little optical power.

A 101 years ago, on November 23, 1924, the universe got larger.

Astronomical distances can be mind boggling. Our closest neighbour, the Moon, is 380,000 kms away — equal to about 10 trips around Earth’s equator.

A few lingering stars of winter are still in view during the evening. Antares, Altair, Vega have lit up the cold winter nights for us. But there is really only one bright star that puts in its best showing during these early spring nights:

Image © Patrick Cosgrove. The Helix Nebula, also known as NGC 7293, is a planetary nebula (PN) located in the constellation Aquarius.

Imagine yourself sitting on a rock on the dark side of Moon, gazing up at the Milky Way. There's no stray lights, no atmosphere to dull your view of the night sky. The stars are so brilliant, so big, you could reach out and touch them.

The Jewel Box Star Cluster. Image © Sergio Equivar, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Look up overhead on any of these frosty winter’s nights, and if you have a dark area away from direct lighting, you’ll see the Milky Way shining brightly.

This is NGC 6744, a spiral galaxy bearing similarities to our home galaxy, the Milky Way.

The winter Milky Way shines across the sky from east to west in a blaze of starlight.

Eta Carinae Nebula (NGC 3372) Distance: 7500 Light Years

We have recently seen the destructive power of extreme weather events, such as cyclones and the flooding in southwest Queensland. It left in its wake flooded businesses, broken roads, power outages, and other problems. The repair bill will run into billions of dollars.

Globular Cluster in Centaurus

The crisp autumn evenings of April offer an ideal opportunity to explore the majesty of the southern sky. Go find yourself a nice dark spot in the back-garden, and let your eyes become accustomed to the darkness. Notice how many more stars you can see, even after a few minutes, as the pupils of your eyes expand to let as much light in as possible.

Distance: 1500 Light Years |Constellation - Orion

There's nothing more magical than to lie down on your back lawn on a warm summer evening and gaze up at the brilliant night sky.

Distance: 7500 Light Years

Two bright beacons hold centre stage in our night sky during February. In the beautiful pastel hues of an Australian summer sunset.

Distance: 31 Million Light Years

There's nothing more magical than to lie down on your back lawn on a warm summer evening and gaze up at the brilliant night sky.

The Pleiades star cluster (The Seven Sisters) Distance: 435 Light Years

The stars that shine at night do so from immense distances.

We recently saw the destructive power of hurricanes Milton and Helene, as they cut a path of destruction through various states in the US. They left in their wake flooded businesses, broken roads, power outages, and other problems. The repair bill will run into billions of dollars.

Distance: 163,000 light years Right Ascension 05 : 23.6 Declination -69 : 45

After a spectacular encounter with Pluto back in July 2015, the New Horizons spacecraft was redirected to visit a more distant object, known as 2014 MU69.

M31—The Andromeda Galaxy Distance: 2.5 million Light Years

Spring is just around the corner, and with it, comes the promise of warmer evenings and clearer skies. And hopefully the opportunity to spend more time looking up!

NGC 253 is the brightest member of the Sculptor Group of galaxies.

f you're brave enough to venture outside these cold winter nights, you'll be greeted by the heart of our Milky Way galaxy directly overhead. Find yourself a dark space in your backyard on a clear moonless night, and look straight up.

M17 – The Swan Nebula in Sagittarius

Look up overhead on any of these frosty winter’s nights, and as long as you have a dark area away from direct lighting, you’ll see the band of the Milky Way shining brightly.

NGC 4038-4039 Merging Galaxies - The Antennae. Distance: 45 million Light Years.

About half-way up the northern evening sky, a bright star shines.

M20 – The Trifid Nebula in Sagittarius

A myriad of bright stars adorn the late autumn evening sky.

Galaxy NGC 5128—Centaurus A

Looking west on the evening of April 27., 30 minutes after sunset. Locate the orange star Aldebaran, then scan to the left until you come to a fuzzy spot in the sky. Train your binoculars on it, the comet will be 239 million kilometres away. Graphic generated with Stellarium planetarium software.

M104 - The Sombrero Galaxy. Distance: 31 Million Light Years

Some of the brightest stars in the whole sky can be seen during these crisp autumn evenings.

What a wonderful time of the year this is to be observing the night sky. The weather is warm, the nights clear, and the Milky Way shines directly overhead!

Eta Carinae Nebula (NGC 3372)
Distance: 7500 Light Years
Right Ascension: 10 : 43.8 | Declination: -59 : 52