Observations

The front of the Sydney Observatory Sky Guide

April 2011 night sky guide and podcast

March 25, 2011

To help you learn about the southern night sky, Sydney Observatory provides an audio guide/podcast, transcript of that audio, and a sky map or chart each month. This month's audio sky guide is presented by Dr Nick Lomb, Astronomer-at-Large for Sydney Observatory (Curator of Astronomy at Sydney Observatory until the end of 2009).
The front of the Sydney Observatory

April 2011 sky guide transcript

March 25, 2011

This is a transcript of a podcast of the April 2011 night sky guide presented by Dr Nick Lomb. Download and listen to the podcast as you gaze up at the night sky. Dr Nick Lomb: This is the guide to night sky in April.
A flare on the Sun at region AR11165 on 7 March 2011

Harry watches our resurgent Sun in amazement: the events of 8 March 2011

March 23, 2011

Nick Lomb
A flare on the Sun at region AR11165 on 7 March 2011 imaged in the red light of hydrogen (hydrogen alpha). Image and copyright Monty Leventhal OAM ©, all rights reserved While until recently solar activity had been weaker than expected, around March 1 the sun decided to “up the action”!
The front of the Sydney Observatory

Work experience students and M42

March 18, 2011

Geoff Wyatt
Our two work experience students, Harry and Peter from Sydney Technical High School at Bexley used an avi file captured from a low cost security camera attached to a telescope to make this image of the beautiful nebula M42.
Light pollution

Andrew writes “Sydney Observatory’s Greatest Mistake?”

March 15, 2011

Geoff Wyatt
The first electric light in Sydney On the evening of January 23, 1868 Sydney was in the grip of Royal-tour fever and a spectacular, but gas powered, light show was underway. Up on the hill at Sydney Observatory an electric arc lamp switched on and it stole the show.
A simulation of the rising nearly full Moon on the evening of 19 March 2011.

The science behind the Moon’s close approach on 20 March 2011

March 15, 2011

Nick Lomb
A simulation of the rising nearly full Moon on the evening of 19 March 2011. The large Moon provides a good opportunity to become familiar with its features. On the left is the Sea of Crises, to its right is the Sea of Tranquillity where Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed in July 1969 and the compact sea on the far right is the Sea of Moisture.
Wikipedia image Lunar perigee apogee

Moonageddon is almost upon us

March 7, 2011

Geoff Wyatt
Recently, you may have heard of the term “Moonageddon”. For those that haven’t, it is a nonsense word to describe the end of the world or disastrous events lurking just weeks away. The world will not end on March 20th.
A sketch of the region of the Sword of Orion, including M42 the Orion nebula

Harry sketches the Sword of Orion: the richest concentration of stars, star clusters and nebulae in the night sky

March 2, 2011

Nick Lomb
A sketch of the region of the Sword of Orion, including M42 the Orion nebula, with a 4-inch (10-cm) telescope and a filter for the green light emitted by double-ionised oxygen atoms (OIII). Image and copyright Harry Roberts ©, all rights reserved The Sword of Orion is probably astronomy’s best known feature – one that’s been remarked for eons – and since the invention of the telescope, the most common target perhaps.