If you’ve ever been amazed just thinking about the stars and galaxies around us, and how insignificant we are in the grand scheme of things, you’re bound to love a visit to the Stardome Observatory.
I was completely blown away by the experience and saw things in the sky I have never seen before.
Of course, the stars’ constellations look different in the southern hemisphere than they do in the northern hemisphere, so that in itself can be pretty intense.
The folks down at the Auckland Stardome Observatory are pretty knowledgeable about everything up there in the big night sky. And they’ve got exciting projectors and telescopes to boot too.
The planetarium has just had a very serious makeover. So you can sit back and watch amazingly bright computer-generated images on the 360 degree screen, along with a brand new set of astronomy feature films.
We started off by looking at Auckland’s night sky how it should look without any light pollution. There was a pretty huge difference to say the least. Then we had a look for the Southern Cross, which is only visible in the southern hemisphere, along with Jupiter and its four moons. Pretty amazing stuff.
After the film, we were then let loose on the courtyard telescopes so we could get up close to the current night sky, and have a look at some of the formations we’d just learnt about.
I left the Stardome Observatory to catch a late bus back into the city, with a huge sense of awe and wonder and what I’d seen that night. And I have to say it was nice to wake up the next day without a hangover after seeing so many stars.
The Stardome Observatory can be found in Auckland’s One Tree Hill domain, one of Auckland’s most prominent volcanic cones.
Buses 302, 304, 305 and 312 depart regularly from the city centre, via Newmarket, and stop right outside the gate. They also travel back into the city after 9pm, so there’s no worries about missing the last one!
Admission is $16. For more information call 09 624 1246 or visit www.stardome.org.nz
Written by Rachel Pinder (2008)
Rachel stayed in Auckland, courtesy of Nomads Fusion at 16-20 Fort Street
After the film, we were then let loose on the courtyard telescopes so we could get up close to the current night sky, and have a look at some of the formations we’d just learnt about.