Bathurst Observatory Research Facility

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Australia
Bathurst, NSW
Bathurst Observatory Research Facility

A place where you can learn about sky law, view through the telescopes, or just admire the sky. Bookings essential.

Our web site has current information about tour dates, prices and times.

13/06/2026

Some of the new camera gear has arrived!!! Just waiting on a connector and then will put it through its paces. Although I have cut back on tours (so I can image and do research) I will still be offering some tours, though likely a bit more randomly than before. That said, I should be able to squeeze in a couple in school holidays.... Watch this space.

01/06/2026

Unfortunately due to personal reasons and much discussion with my friends and family, I've had to make to decision to ease back on tours for perhaps the rest of the year. I will still be offering some special nights, but the regular weekends I will be having to allocate for catching up with a few observatory projects of my own. I will also be investing in some new equipment for the observatory to hopefully improve the images I take. For example.. Wait and see what the new equipment will do with the galaxy NGC 5128 I took recently with the old! But please stay following me as there will be more frequent images posted and stay tuned for special nights, particularly if you are an astronomy buff! Plus I'll keep you posted with what you can see in the sky!

10/05/2026

The comet R3 Panstarrs, isn't as bright as a few nights ago, and you still need binoculars to see it, but it was nicely place next to the Orion Nebula (M42) on the evening of the 10th May.

05/05/2026

My first larger telescope image of comet R3 Panstarrs on the evening of the 5th of May. I should be able to get better as it gets higher in the sky.

03/05/2026

I had my first view of comet R3 Panstarrs in evening twilight on the 3rd of May. With all the cloud about, I hadn't expected to see it at all! But with a gap in cloud, I grabbed the camera and 50mm lens for a quick snap. Nice long tail! Can't wait to get the telescope on this one!. It will be slowly getting higher in the western evening skies over the coming weeks.

26/04/2026

Thank you to all the people understanding that we were closed for private remembrance over the Anzac weekend in memory of a relative who died in war. I did take some time on my own in reflection in the observatory and took a quick image of the Moon.

19/04/2026

I think a few people know that I have not be well for a while and hence I have not been in the observatory itself. However, on the evening of the 18th April, I bravely set up for imaging on the big scope again. A couple of easy targets to test out again. The nebula Eta Carina and the spiral galaxy M83

22/03/2026

Some auroral activity occurred on the evening of the 22nd March. It was a bit of surprise I admit. It very briefly flared from a red glow to a few brighter rays.

14/03/2026

After a battle with back issues last year and then this year a fair bit of cloud, I actually got a chance to try doing some imaging again. Not through the telescope, but camera on a tracking mount. This was more to refresh my skills. The target was the Large Magellanic Galaxy. This magnificent companion to our own Milky Way galaxy, is nicely placed high in the southern sky in evenings this time of the year.

03/03/2026

We were clouded out for the eclipse but have seen some nice images taken by locals. Feel free to post your images in the comments!!! I’d love to see them.

Address

6 Priors Lane, Billywillinga
Bathurst, NSW
2795

Website

https://bathurstobservatory.com.au/

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