Bathurst Observatory Research Facility
Bathurst NSW Australia
Please like our Facebook page for latest news and images!
https://www.facebook.com/BathurstObservatory/
Bathurst Observatory Research Facility is an observatory site primarily for education, research and study, though we do offer general public viewing nights.
Open Nights Star Tours Available Now (conditions and limits apply)
Bookings will be essential for all tours.
(All tours subject to weather)
Tours are underway at the new site. The site is not complete yet, however, are able to offer tours to help complete other facilities.
Tours will be generally be available most Friday and Saturday nights.
No tours in the week of Full Moon
Please note that the main telescope is pretty big and requires use of a small stepladder for viewing. Please advise if you would have difficulties with steps and we can set up a different telescope.
* There may be some mid week research nights where tours are not available.
Reduced Tours Prices for groups
Costs :
As the site is not yet complete with all facilities, we are asking for donation towards completion (an amount you think is fair for the tour and my time).
(Note: we have NO credit card facilities)
Tour bookings and Enquiries, phone (0427292214 Please leave a message as we screen out spam calls), or email us. (Email is by far the best way to get us, if you don’t get a reply it means you have us blocked!!! Please change your settings! NB: we are unable to reply to Gmail email addresses at the moment, please phone us, or use a different email address).
Tours require bookings and are weather dependent. (We can’t see stars through clouds!) Tour duration is about 1 hour, depending on time of year.
Our FaceBook page https://www.facebook.com/BathurstObservatory/ is regularly updated, so have a look for the latest news and images from the observatory.
Keep up to date with our latest News.
Please Subscribe to our Newsletter.
We value your privacy and do not share your information.
Just a quick note that if you use Gmail, we can’t reply to you at present please try a different email address or let Gmail know that we can’t reply. ... See MoreSee Less
Comment on Facebook
Well the aurora certainly delivered on the evening of the 20th into the early hours of the 21st January! Here are some of about 180 images I managed during the display. Will the display continue on the evening of the 21st? Possible minor outbursts, but the best of the display has now likely passed (until the next solar flare!) ... See MoreSee Less
Comment on Facebook
I'm glad to see your photos. My pictures are just like any other ordinary night
Excellent shots. Lucky holidays are still happening. Thanks for sharing
Great shots and what a show😀 I got up about 3.10am and got some more shots from home in Cudal. I got my first shots from east of Cudal at 9.43pm. 😲
Tanya Marquardt
Wow!!!
View more comments
High chance of Aurora on the night of the 20th January. You will need clear and dark skies away from towns viewing to the south from dark until dawn. Keep an eye out as activity can come and go. ... See MoreSee Less
Comment on Facebook
Kina Bowden if I wasn’t pet sitting I would have come to yours camp in the yard hahahaha
Cloudy and we have these numbers 🫤
What is the best time for viewing ?
F
F
View more comments
Still under orders to rest the pinched nerve for at least another week! Frustrating, as I still have to do a minor repair to the observatory. Hope everyone had a great start to the year! Looking forward to a few highlights this year, including a lunar eclipse!
Image is late night (early morning) milky way southern cross region from a few weeks ago! ... See MoreSee Less
Comment on Facebook
Get well soon. Pinched nerves are painful.
Back problems are not funny Get well soon
Nice shot. Take it easy, it's no good if you get back into it too soon. Been there ☹️
I have been catching up with family and when here, it has been cloudy! So a struggle to fit in tours it seems before Christmas. I also need to do a small repair to the observatory during the week. So it seems January for tours! Hoping in the meantime you enjoy your break and however you spend Christmas! ... See MoreSee Less
Comment on Facebook
Merry Christmas!
Have a happy Christmas.
Tours 'should' be available during the school holidays, subject to weather (and as usual, not near full Moon). I will post tour availability generally a week ahead of upcoming tours. This time of year though, they are pretty late at 9:30 pm. I will need to do some telescope testing though too, to make sure al is fine! Looking forward to being back at the scope! ... See MoreSee Less
Comment on Facebook
Here are some of the images from Bathurst Observatory of the Aurora on the evening of the 12th of November. There were not as many rays in this display as in others, but it did extend over a wider area. One interesting sight was the appearance of the rarer SAR arc. This SAR is caused a little differently from the aurora itself and arises from thermal emissions rather than particle ionisation as in the aurora itself. The SAR can be seen as a broad darker red arc above the aurora in some of these images. Cloud to night will rule out more images here. ... See MoreSee Less
Comment on Facebook
Thankyou for these lovely pictures. I am puzzled by comments in various places that the aurora can only be seen in photos - is this true? If it can only be seen in photos then I don't understand all the excitement. Sorry if this is a dumb question 😅
Thanks for the explanation I have photographed it 3 times this year and the first 2 in Jan and Jun over my back fence in Blayney which fortunately faces south over some farmland and they had a lot more streaks but this 3rd one I did at Carcoar Dam and it was larger and more vibrant and solid.
Amazing, is there a certain time frame to see it tonight or will it go all night?
Great job on capturing the Aurora
View more comments
Auroral storm in progress tonight and likely into the night of the 13th as well. I'll post some of my images tomorrow. ... See MoreSee Less
www.facebook.com
Send a message to learn moreComment on Facebook
Sorry for not posting in a while. Still recovering and getting physio. Hoping to be back at the telescope soon. I have been keeping my eye on comet Lemmon A6 and its prospects for November. It should be visible very low in the west from about the first week of November. But I'm not overly hopeful of seeing it, as it will be fading and somewhat lost in twilight and sets pretty much just as its getting dark.. ... See MoreSee Less
www.facebook.com
Send a message to learn moreComment on Facebook