Sights and Sounds: Star Gazing

Ever since I was little, my father has had an interest in Astronomy. Unfortunately, he never really had the time to pursue this hobby until he retired. These days, with ample time up his sleeve, he goes star gazing using this:

I don’t know much about telescopes so you can read more about it here.

Star gazing is not an activity we could do back in Malaysia because the city is too brightly lit at night. And if it isn’t the night lights, it’s the cloud cover. So with such a wonderful opportunity sitting in my father’s study, I asked grandpa to show Aristotle the night sky.

The weather wasn’t the best but we did manage to see Jupiter and a few other stars. Jupiter and three of its Gallilean moons were visible. We could even see the two stripes across its surface.

Initially excited to see the stars, Aristotle’s enthusiasm was quick to fizzle out.  I think I was more excited about seeing Jupiter than he was. Oh well, at least he knows what star gazing is all about now. Perhaps he will have a better appreciation for it when he’s older. In the mean time, perhaps I can work on developing his interest in astronomy…

My father uses a magazine guide to the night sky of the Southern Hemisphere, but there are a lot of resources available online:

• Astronomy Online
• Southern Sky Watch
• Sky Maps
• Melbourne Planetarium – Sky Notes and Sky Maps

In addition to these, The Naked Eye Planets has tips for finding the planets in the night sky. If your child loves astronomy, the Melbourne Planetarium is a great place to visit. They also have educational resources available on their website.

Although we went to Science Works, we didn’t quite make it to the Planetarium so perhaps we can go there the next time. Based on what little I have seen of it, it looks like the Melbourne Planetarium puts ours to shame. If you want to visit the Melbourne Planetarium, here are the details:

The Mebourne Planetarium:

• Opening Hours: Monday to Sunday 9am – 5pm.
• Tickets: Adult $16, Concession $5, and Child (3–16 years) $4.50. Tickets include general entry to Scienceworks.
• Address: 2 Booker St, Spotswood, Victoria, 3015.
• Telephone: 13 11 02 (Victoria only); 03 9392 4800 (Australia-wide); +61 3 9392 4800 (International)

More activities in Melbourne, Australia.