Dear Macquarie University Association for Astronomy members,

We start the month of October with the sad news that one of our members, Ross Bailey, passed away. His brother Phil was kind enough to let us know.

The new planetarium is finally here, as are all the remaining pieces of hardware needed for its functioning. We will be testing it tomorrow in preparation for its grand opening at Astronomy Open Night on October 29^th! The preparations for Open Night are proceeding well. I must confess that as this event grows so do my anxieties of not being able to cater for the increasing numbers! But everybody in the department is helping out and dedicated to making this event a success. So please do come along and let your friends know!

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...

Remember, summer time (daylight saving) begins on Sunday 2nd October at 2am in NSW, ACT, Victoria, SA andTasmania. Later in the month Venus is visible in the early evening appearing as a bright object towards the west.At 8.15pm on the 28th, Mercury and Venus are below the crescent Moon, with all three low in the west. The best time to see the Moon using binoculars or a small telescope is a few days either side of the first quarter Moon on the 4th. To the south-west is Crux (the Southern Cross) easily located using the two nearby stars called the Pointers.To the west are the constellations of Scorpius (the Scorpion) and Sagittarius (the Archer).