A guide to what's up in the sky for Southern Australia
Starwatch - December 2024 - Sun 1st Dec 2024
Published 1st Dec 2024
The stars that shine at night do so from immense distances.
Starwatch - November 2024 - Mon 4th Nov 2024
Published 4th Nov 2024
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.
Large Magellanic Cloud - Fri 1st Nov 2024
Published 1st Nov 2024
Distance: 163,000 light years Right Ascension 05 : 23.6 Declination -69 : 45
Starwatch - October 2024 - Mon 30th Sep 2024
Published 30th Sep 2024
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.
OCTOBER’S DEEP SKY HIGHLIGHT - Sun 29th Sep 2024
Published 29th Sep 2024
M31—The Andromeda Galaxy Distance: 2.5 million Light Years
Starwatch - September 2024 - Sat 31st Aug 2024
Published 31st Aug 2024
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 – Galaxy in Sculptor - Fri 30th Aug 2024
Published 30th Aug 2024
NGC 253 is the brightest member of the Sculptor Group of galaxies.
Starwatch - August 2024 - Tue 30th Jul 2024
Published 30th Jul 2024
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.
The Swan Nebula - Mon 29th Jul 2024
Published 29th Jul 2024
M17 – The Swan Nebula in Sagittarius
Starwatch July 2024 - Mon 8th Jul 2024
Published 8th Jul 2024
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.
Merging Galaxies - Sun 7th Jul 2024
Published 7th Jul 2024
NGC 4038-4039 Merging Galaxies - The Antennae. Distance: 45 million Light Years.
Starwatch June 2024 - Sun 2nd Jun 2024
Published 2nd Jun 2024
About half-way up the northern evening sky, a bright star shines.
The Trifid Nebula - Sat 1st Jun 2024
Published 1st Jun 2024
M20 – The Trifid Nebula in Sagittarius
Starwatch May 2024 - Thu 2nd May 2024
Published 2nd May 2024
A myriad of bright stars adorn the late autumn evening sky.
Galaxy NGC 5128 - Wed 1st May 2024
Published 1st May 2024
Galaxy NGC 5128—Centaurus A
Comet Pons-Brooks - Wed 10th Apr 2024
Published 10th Apr 2024
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 - Tue 9th Apr 2024
Published 9th Apr 2024
M104 - The Sombrero Galaxy. Distance: 31 Million Light Years
Starwatch - April 2024 - Mon 8th Apr 2024
Published 9th Apr 2024
Some of the brightest stars in the whole sky can be seen during these crisp autumn evenings.
Starwatch - March 2024 - Wed 6th Mar 2024
Published 6th Mar 2024
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!
Object of the Month - Mon 4th Mar 2024
Published 4th Mar 2024
Eta Carinae Nebula (NGC 3372)
Distance: 7500 Light Years
Right Ascension: 10 : 43.8 | Declination: -59 : 52
Distance: 163,000 light years Right Ascension 05 : 23.6 Declination -69 : 45
The Magellanic Clouds are named for the explorer Ferdinand Magellan who noted their presence in 1519. The clouds represent a binary system of dwarf irregular galaxies that orbit the Milky Way. The Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) measures some 20,000 light years across making it the fourth largest member of the Local group followed by the Milky Way, M31, and M33. The LMC is about 1/20th the diameter of our galaxy and contains about 1/10th the number of stars. Although it is an irregular galaxy it has traces of spiral structure and even contains
an off-centred bar. Regarding the origin of the LMC one possible scenario is that the LMC was once a barred spiral that became disrupted in a close encounter with the Milky Way.
On February 24, 1987 supernova 1987A occurred in the LMC. It was the nearest observed supernova since the invention of the telescope.