Lights Out - The International Year of Astronomy is opening up the skies to star-struck travellers

The following article originally appeared in the New Scientist Travel Guide for Australian and New Zealand readers

The International Year of Astronomy is opening up the skies to star-struck travellers writes Justin Wastnage

Lava is slippery when wet, as I found
out attempting to walk on the edges
of the flow of Mauna Loa on Hawaii’s
Big Island.

Hilo, the city at the foot of this active but
benign volcano, is officially the rainiest city
in the US and most days is swathed in a
perma-drizzle more commonly associated
with the north of England.

While most visitors head to the other,
more idyllic islands of the state, Hilo does
attract tourists, with the volcano its major
drawcard. But for many, Hilo is synonymous
with astronomy.

The Mauna Loa’s sister peak, Mauna Kea,
houses some of the finest observatories
on earth and they are open to the public,
although only on organised tours.

This year is International Year of
Astronomy and to mark the event
observatories around Australia are also
opening their doors, with unprecedented
access to a number of telescopes and
historical sites.

Australia’s first observatory was built in
1858 on Sydney’s highest peak, Millers Point,
long before light pollution was an issue.
Although no longer operational, its tours
are among the most popular, with the
public drawn by its proximity to the CBD,
its heritage-listed sandstone building and
three-dimensional theatre, which recreates
the perfect night sky. Similar 3-D displays
are available at planetaria around the
country.

For a more serious look at the heavens,
it’s necessary to travel as far from the cities
as possible.

Coonabarabran, on the edge of the
Warrumbungle National Park in western
New South Wales, bills itself as the
astronomy capital of Australia. The country
town is home to Siding Spring Observatory,
Australia’s largest optical observatory since
its sister site, Mount Stromlo Observatory,
was irreparably damaged in the 2003
Canberra bushfires.

Visitors to Siding Spring (who usually
combine the observatory with a visit to
the national park) are drawn by the Anglo-
Australian Telescope, whose 4-metre wide lens
has discovered three new extra-solar planets.
Australia’s most famous observatory
has no lens. The 64-metre radio telescope
outside Parkes, operated by Australia's
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial
Research Organisation (CSIRO), was the
crucial southern link in the US Apollo 11
manned mission to the moon.

The events of July 20, 1969, were
dramatised in the movie The Dish, which
has led to an average of 100,000 visitors to
Parkes Observatory each year.

Not only can visitors not play cricket
on the massive dish, as in the film, but
usually there is not even a tour, such is the
sensitive work going on inside. But this
year Parkes has two open days, 18 and 19
July, when visitors can go inside or take a
hot-air balloon or helicopter over the site.
More fun perhaps is the Leaning Tower
of Gingin, a 40-metre modern-day version
of the Pisa original at the Cosmology
Gallery of the Australian Interferometric
Gravitational Observatory, north of Perth.
The tower will be used to deliver handson
understanding of gravity science from
free fall, impact craters and the basic laws
of physics for kids. The centre also has
open days in September.

Amateur astronomers should take note
of the best conditions to view the night sky.
The time of a barely visible new moon is
better to observe faint objects than a full
moon, which tends to wash out a good
portion of the sky.

For optical telescopes, mountaintop
locations are best, since the thin air and low
water vapour at higher altitudes and drier
locations make for much better observing
conditions than at sea level. Similarly, cold
air also improves visibility because it’s
stiller than warm air.

To read the article in its original form, click here.