Dear Macquarie University Association for Astronomy members,

Another Astronomy Open Night is behind us, and what a night it has been! We had well above 1000 people this year! The planetarium served 630 people and despite the fact that we only showed a short movie, the customers seemed to enjoy it. There is no telling what we can do for school children and the public at large with this excellent new tool! One of the great additions this year was the Quantum physics activities. They drew more Uh! and Ah! than we imagined, so I think our Quantum friends are here to stay! The talk was well received. It tackled a hard topic, but my impression and the comments I heard pointed to the fact that Prof. Melatos did an admirable job. Possibly, we also need to have a simple talk available, as we did last year. As always, thanks for your continued support and I wish you all a pleasant November!

Science journalist and broadcaster Robyn Williams will launch Nick Lomb’s richly illustrated book, ‘Transit of Venus: 1631 to the present’. This is the first major event in the lead-up to next year’s transit of Venus and an opportunity to hear more about the book from the author, enjoy a glass of wine, nibbles and have your book signed on the night.

On clear nights, we offer a "starfinder" session to demonstrate how to identify bright stars, constellations and planets. This is followed by observing with the telescopes. Even with the light pollution of the city, we can easily see double and multiple stars, open and globular star clusters, and the brighter nebulae. The Moon and planets, when in suitable positions, are easily viewed with any of our instruments. On dark, moonless nights with good seeing, we may also observe the brightest galaxies. More...

Sydney Observatory is open every night (session times vary) and day (10am to 5pm) except Christmas Day and Good Friday. The links at left have all the information you need to plan your visit. Charges apply to night and day telescope viewing sessions which include visits to the telescope domes, telescope viewing* and 3D space theatre experience - guided and explained by one of the Observatory's astronomy educators. More...

Jupiter remains visible in the early evening as a bright object towards the north-east. Low in the west are Mercury and Venus. On the 27th at 8.50pm the crescent Moon is located next to Venus towards the western horizon. The best time to view the Moon using binoculars or a small telescope is a few days either side of the first quarter Moon on the 3rd. Crux (the Southern Cross) is located to the south, near the horizon, making it difficult to see.