One of the great things about stargazing is that it’s FREE! Here in Western Australia, we have one of the darkest and most pristine night skies in the world. Our view of the stars is breath-taking. You don’t need anything at all to go stargazing! All you have to do is look up and take in the magnificent nightscape. Springtime stargazing means the weather is warming up, the wildflowers are in bloom and there are some extra-special stargazing objects to see over the next few months.
Here’s a list of our favourites:
Magical Mars
Who’s looking bright and red right now? Mars is easy to find in the night sky right now. You won’t miss it!
The red planet was at opposition recently. And it still looks fantastic! Learn more here.
Leonids Meteor Shower Time
Spend time with friends and family under a meteor shower this Spring! The Leonids is the pick of the bunch. It’s active from 6th-30th November. The best date to see these special “shooting stars” is on 18th November when the shower peaks. After 3am, look to the north east, about 20 degrees above the horizon.
Gas Planets Meet the Moon
We’ll meet again...Jupiter, Saturn and the Moon have been amazing these past months. When is their next meeting in the night sky?
Sensational Scorpio
Spring is a great time to find Scorpio! Learning to find constellations is lots of fun, and one of the easiest to find is Scorpius the Scorpion. It is a lovely, large constellation that really does form the shape of a scorpion!
Learn more about Scorpio here
A Green Gas Giant
During November Uranus will be at its closest point to Earth, but this still puts the planet at 2.6 billion kms away. If you have a medium to large telescope, springtime is a great opportunity to see the far-off planet.
More on Uranus at Opposition here.
Our Big Galactic Neighbour
Andromeda is one of our neighbouring galaxies! To see this far off galaxy is certainly challenging but very rewarding. They say it’s the furthest you can see with the naked eye! You need the darkest of night skies for this one!
Need help finding Andromeda?
Donna, at Beam Me Up Media, is aiming to produce a television series featuring the amazing places and characters making WA the go-to destination for space science and stargazing.
Donna Vanzetti
Author
What else can you see in the night sky?
The Astrotourism WA website features monthly articles on what you can find in the night sky!
