Sydney Observatory
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Monthly sky guides: To help you learn about the southern night sky, Sydney Observatory provides a star map or chart for each month of the year. We also provide an audio guide of the month’s night sky which you can listen  to online, or download the audio onto your ipod or mp3 player...more

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Select a star from the Southern Star Catalogue starting from just $300! A unique gift for a loved one. Fully tax-deductable. more . . .

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Sydney ObservatoryCreated on September 8, 2008 at 3:19am

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Flickr pictures by Powerhouse Museum Collection | Showing 4 photos described as Sydney Observatory

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Sydney Observatory

 
Katie

Katie Anyone know anything about the Leonid Meteor Shower predicted to happen on Nov 17/18th? Can we see it from Sydney?
http://www.facebook.com/events.php?friends=1&s=20&hash=1113c6cf165e78a50689ba894a01a953#/event.php?eid=50919901871&index=1

Sun at 10:23pm · Report
Sydney Observatory
Sydney Observatory
Every 33 years a snowy dirt ball by the name of Comet Tempel-Tuttle makes a journey around the Sun. Much like Hansel and Gretel, the comet leaves behind a dusty trail after its frozen surface “boils” away under the influence of the Sun.

As the Earth hurtles around the Sun it bumps into this trail every November and causes a meteor shower. This year it looks like the Earth will hit the particularly dusty trails left behind in 1466 and 1533. The result could be as many as 500 meteors per hour in the prime locations. So the obvious question is “From where can this be seen?” Not from Sydney, sadly.

The peak is expected between 21:00 to 22:00 Universal Time (UT) on November 17th which corresponds to 8am to 9am Australian Eastern Daylight Time (AEDT) on the morning of the 18th. Although we miss out on the best view it may still be worth an early wake up call and seeking a clear view to the north east.... Read More

So where is the best place to watch the show? Anywhere where the sky is clear in Russia, Kazak, China, Vietnam, Thailand, Nepal and India.

Good luck and if anyone gets some good images please post them here for us all to see.
Yesterday at 9:10pm
Sydney Observatory

Sydney Observatory Oh dear just when I ordered a new "Nitro" blue car I have discovered the Universe's overall colour is beige. To find out more visit APOD at http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap091101.html

APOD: 2009 November 1 -The Average Color of the Universe
Source: antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov
A different astronomy and space science related image is featured each day, along with a brief explanation.
November 5 at 12:49pm
Emma

Emma
Hi there, I spoke to somebody this morning and they asked me to report what I had seen on the fan page here. Forgive me for taking a while, but I was trying to clarify as much info as I could (times, locations etc) before I posted.

Last night at approximately 11:20pm (I had originally thought it was earlier, but I post...ed something about it on a forum straight after, so that was time stamped) my husband and I observed a meteor falling to earth. Our geographical location is lat 36 12 S and long 144 13 E. My husband saw it first and said "Oh, look at the shooting star!" and just as he said that I actually caught it out of the corner of my eye, it was so big. I would approximate that I began observing it at a 45 degree angle to myself on the ground, in the eastern sky, and it was travelling in a northerly direction.Read More

Michelle Cooney

Michelle Cooney Another close up pic !

Michelle Cooney

Michelle Cooney Hi, was looking through some old photos & came across this one I took on Wednesday 10 August 2005 at about 8.09am , when we were travelling out from Sydney city to the airport. Does anyone know what it was in the sky ?

Hugh Lachlan Kennedy

Hugh Lachlan Kennedy Did I see a supernova? I was jogging South on the beach just off Semaphore South, South Australia. A bright object in the sky caught my eye. Right near the point in the sky above the South Pole. 8:00 PM, 8th October 2009. At its peak it was about as bright as a planet like Venus. A clear white light. It faded quickly and I couldn’t see it after approx. 5 minutes. It was stationary, and out of the usual flight lanes.

October 8 at 5:48am · Report
Sydney Observatory
Sydney Observatory
Hi Hugh. Sadly it wasn't a supernova as that would still be visible. If you watched it for about 5 minutes in the one place then I am somewhat stumped other than something flying directly towards you. I see this daily from my office looking due west.
October 8 at 5:56pm
Hugh Lachlan Kennedy
Hugh Lachlan Kennedy
Thanks for your thoughts. I think it may have been a reflection from an iridium satellite. But I am pretty sure it was stationary. Are astronomers ever surprised by exploding stars or do they always know what is going on out there?
October 11 at 3:36am
Sydney Observatory
Sydney Observatory
Hi Hugh. Always surprised! A star's death can be never be precisely predicted. For example the star at the heart of Eta Carinae may explode anytime within the next week to a hundred thousand years or so, soon anyway.
October 25 at 10:42pm
Sydney Observatory

Sydney Observatory You've been dying to know and now here it is - the opening date for the year's most anticipated exhibition 'The 80s are back' is 12 December 2009. Join the fanclub and be the first to receive updates on the exhibition and special events offers. Subscribe now at www.powerhousemuseum.com/80sareback

www.powerhousemuseum.com
Source: www.powerhousemuseum.com
The Powerhouse Museum is bringing back the 80s with a spectacular exhibition that will reveal the good and the bad about the decade vividly remembered for its over-the-top excess.
October 6 at 4:02pm
Duane Hamacher
Duane Hamacher
WHOOHOO!!!
October 6 at 4:37pm
Amanda

Amanda Amusing to see Sydney Observatory's gardens on last week's episode of The Apprentice! Curious to know whether the apprentices' work had to be redone afterwards by professionals...

Joey Kai Hin Yung

Joey Kai Hin Yung Hey, I want to ask, is the brightest object Venus that I see in the Sydney night sky recently, the brightest "star"?

Melissa

Melissa Happy equinox everyone,

Nhu Lulu 爱

Nhu Lulu 爱 hi G,A,M,R,T,D,M,A,M,E,N ~^^~... how are u ~^^~..... it's nancy ~^^~

August 26 at 6:09am · Report
Sydney Observatory
Sydney Observatory
Hello Nancy. I hope you enjoyed your week with us as a work experience student.
August 27 at 5:48am
Nhu Lulu 爱
Nhu Lulu 爱
Hahaha..... Of course i did hahaha..... Weird to go back to school though hahaha..... How is every one? And the new work experience student... Hahaha.... Cant wait to hear rebbecah sing again hahahaha....
August 27 at 5:52am
Andrew Denniston

Andrew Denniston I saw something that looked like a meteor perhaps, passing very low over Sydney at about 9.30 tonight! I was driving across the harbor bridge Southbound and it was to my left. The tail was fiery and long. Did anyone else see this thing?

August 15 at 6:08am · Report
Sydney Observatory
Sydney Observatory
Hi Andrew. We haven't had any reports but that is not unusual. Meteors are quite common however bright ones like you describe are not. Can I ask how long did you watch it for?
August 17 at 11:41pm
Andrew Denniston
Andrew Denniston
about 3 seconds or so, I suppose! Hard to tell cos I was driving... Ive not spoken to anybody or heard any reports whatsoever. Doesnt make sense. I googled in case it may have been an F1-11 flyover with afterburner. Not that it looked like that to me. Maybe it was a space-ship and the aliens only wanted me to see it:->
August 18 at 7:35am
Sydney Observatory

Sydney Observatory Forget the Persied meteor shower, we can barely see it from here. Wait for the Geminids in December!

August 12 at 6:16pm
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Irene Langdon
Irene Langdon
ok genevieve just saw ur comment thank you.
August 13 at 5:19am
Jody Moyses
Jody Moyses
TY Genevieve
August 13 at 2:56pm
Emma Elise Sutton

Emma Elise Sutton could someone please tell me what constellation the saucepan is????

August 10 at 11:01pm · Report
Sydney Observatory
Sydney Observatory
Hi Emma
Typically only Australians, Kiwis and South Africans talk about the saucepan as everyone else, especially those in the northern hemisphere identify it as part of the constellation of Orion. Orion is not visible at night until the warmer months of Summer.
August 11 at 11:12pm
Tania Dmc MArtin

Tania Dmc MArtin last night approx 12.30 shooting star bright silver not as big as ive seenb4 but oh so beautiful

July 21 at 7:55pm · Report
View all 3 comments
Sydney Observatory
Sydney Observatory
Hi Tania. Sorry for the delay in getting back to you. Shooting stars are pretty cool. They are typically very small, i.e. no bigger than a marble but because of their speed they make the atmosphere up to 120km up, glow light a fluorescent light. One of the best meteor showers for us in the Southern hemisphere are the Geminids in the early hours of Monday 15th December and Tuesday 14th December.
August 2 at 10:18pm