Night Sky Discovery

Observatory sessions are held on Friday and Saturday nights throughout most of the year (excluding public holidays) and run for 90 minutes. Session start times vary throughout the year due to shifting sunset times and Daylight Saving.

Bookings are essential and all tickets for admission are sold online. We are unable to accept cash at the door. View currently available dates and times to purchase tickets on our Eventbrite page.

Attending the observatory is weather dependent; unfortunately we can’t see the stars if it’s cloudy or raining. A decision will be made by 5pm on the day of each session as to whether it will go ahead or be cancelled. In either case, an announcement will be posted to our Facebook page. Full refunds are issued in the case of bad weather. Minimum sales are required for sessions to go ahead, and limits apply so book early to secure your spot. We look forward to seeing you there.

For all enquiries about school, scout or guide groups, private bookings, off-site visits and tailored observatory, telescope and/or planetarium sessions, please email starinfo@mq.edu.au. A member of staff from the Association for Astronomy will respond to your enquiry once they have had a chance to review the request.

Note that costs for any private session will be determined on the basis of complexity, duration, group size, equipment and staff required.

• CDK600 f/6.5 – Effective focal length: 3962mm. This telescope is used for research with a fibre-feed going from the back of the telescope to the spectrograph located in the research lab of the new observatory building.
• 16″ Meade Telescope f/10 – Effective focal length: 4064mm, Magnification with standard 26mm eyepiece: 150x. The telescope is used for public viewing on Friday and Saturday nights and is used for group visits and research on other nights of the week.
• 12″ Meade GPS Telescope f/10 – Effective focal length: 3048mm, Magnification with standard 26mm eyepiece: 100x. This telescope is also used on Friday and Saturday nights, and for group visits.
• 12" Meade GPS Telescope f/10 - Same telescope as the other 12". Kindly donated to the University by Richard Heggie in 2019.
• 10" Meade LX200 Telescope f/10 – Another of Meade’s fine products. Thankfully donated to the University by John Cairns in 2013.
• 10" Dobsonion f/5 – Used on nights with very large groups. Donated to the University by Professor David Coutts.
• 9.25" Celestron f/10 – Used on trips away from the observatory but can also be set up at the sites for larger groups.
• 8″ Celestron C8 f/10 – Used on nights with very large groups.
• 8″ Dobsonian – Used on nights with very large groups.
• 8" Meade LX90 SCT f/10 – Similar to the Celestron C8. Kindly donated to the University by Richard Heggie in 2019.
• TEC 140mm ED APO – combined with a Field Flattener and a large scale CCD (SBIG 16803) this famous telescope can produce some truly stunning images.
• Explore Scientific FC 102mm APO CF f/7 – Another telescope to take wide-field images of deep-sky objects (DSOs).
• Explore Scientific ED 80 mm APO f/6 – Used with a Ca K-line filter to image the Sun.
• Project PANOPTES – for more details go to https://projectpanoptes.org/
• 3.2 metre radio telescope – May be operated remotely from the physics computing laboratory on campus.

The Macquarie University observatory was originally constructed as a research facility but, since 1997, has also been accessible to the public through its Public Observing Program on Friday nights. The observatory saw a record crowd on the night of 29 August 2003, with 667 visitors attending to observe the Opposition of Mars.

The observatory was first opened in 1978 at a different location. It was moved to its present site in the early 1990s, after Dr Alan Vaughan established the Foundation for Astronomy (now the AfA) in 1988 to raise funds for further development. The second dome, which houses the 16″ Meade telescope, was opened by Professor John Loxton on 3 May 1997. Construction of this dome was funded by Macquarie University and the AfA.

From 1997 until the end of 2001, the Public Observing Program was operated by a privately-owned business: Southern Skies Mobile Observatory. Between 2002 and 2011, undergraduate and postgraduate students of astronomy operated the Public Observing Program, many as volunteers. Since 2012, the observatory has been operated by trained staff through the revamped Association for Astronomy.

In 2019, a significant upgrade was completed to the Observatory site, adding four new piers, a kitchen, storage, a control room, and a research lab. Vice-Chancellor Professor S Bruce Dowton and Patron of the AfA Professor Fred Watson officially re-opened the Observatory on Monday 2 December.

Observing through telescopes relies on optimal weather. We use multiple sources to predict the weather and some are linked below:

• Bureau of Meteorology: Radar loop for the local Sydney area produced by the Bureau of Meteorology. A lot of the data on this website is useful for predicting the local forecast.

• Clear Outside: This website also has an app for iOS and Android and contains a lot of useful information such as cloud coverage, rain indicator and an indicator of any pass-overs by the International Space Station. By simply choosing your location (the link above is for Macquarie Park) you can get the local forecast and all the other information needed to decide on your observing likelihood. There is also a good guided tour of the website.

  

• Norwegian Meteorological Institute: Another website that give a handy forecast of the local conditions in regards to cloud coverage and rain. Created by the Norwegian Meteorological Institute and also having a place to enter a location (North Ryde is the choice in the above link), you can get a fairly accurate prediction of the local weather.
• Astronomy Weather Information: Obvious images show the conditions for observing at the location selected (Macquarie Park in this link).
• Fourmilab: This website shows the star map of your location (Macquarie University uses Lat: -33.78 Long: 151.12) for any time you enter. A quick and easy way to show what astronomical objects may be visible from your location.