Much is happening to our foundation this month! First of all, we are not a foundation any more. As I had announced at the School of Astronomy, we needed to change name because of the legal implications of being a foundation. So, as you can see from our new banner, we are now the Macquarie University Association for Astronomy. The Astronomy Astrophysics and Astrophotonics research centre is well and truly under way with the first newsletter already out. We are still waiting for our new planetarium and hoping it will be here on time for Open Night on October 29^th.

The Universe is an amazing place, and our modern telescopes are giving us an unprecedented view. We can now see the Universe as it was only 100,000 years after the big bang, before galaxies even existed. We have found hundreds of planets orbiting other stars and are trying to detect their atmospheres to see if there are hints of life. We regularly detect supernovae (exploding stars) that went off billions of years before the earth even formed. And we've discovered some kind of 'dark energy' that is making the expansion of the Universe speed up (and one day might teach us how to harness anti-gravity to make hover-boards).More...

Join Macquarie astronomers to celebrate astronomy and lasers, including viewing the night sky through up to 30 telescopes operated by both Macquarie University astronomers and amateur astronomers.. More...

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...

The spring equinox occurs on 23 September when the length of day and night is almost equal, about 12 hourseach. Saturn is visible low in the west in the constellation of Virgo. The best time to see the Moon using binocularsor a small telescope is a few days either side of the first quarter Moon on the 5th. To the south-west is Crux (theSouthern Cross), easily located using the two nearby stars called the Pointers. In the centre of the sky are theconstellations of Scorpius (the Scorpion) and Sagittarius (the Archer).