On the 29^th of March, the Year 10 Advanced Science and Engineering class had an astronomy evening at the Perth Observatory.

The excursion was part of our astronomy unit and gave us a great opportunity to observe the night sky with the facilities they have.

The evening began with us cooking some burgers on the barbeque for dinner and a chance to relax and enjoy our food. After our meal, we were given a tour of the museum by the staff where we got to see some of the first telescopes that were used at the observatory – now outdated. After the museum tour, we were taken up the main tower and shown the largest telescope at the observatory. Part of an international network of telescopes, it had helped discover several minor planets and was also used to observe gamma-ray bursts.

Once it was dark enough we were taken to the still operational telescopes to do some observations of our own. We took turns looking at various star clusters, the telescopes allowing us to do so in much greater detail than with the naked eye. After this, we had had a chance to look at the moon. Despite the cloud cover increasing, we were still able to have a decent look, the telescope allowing us to make out craters and other features clearly. Finally, we were taken to a half-constructed tower, which the observatory had intended to use to house another telescope before the project was cancelled. The part that was constructed was repurposed into an artwork, with the inside painted with a representation of many of the patterns seen in the night sky by Noongar people, along with some of the patterns seen in western culture.

By this point, it was after 10 o’clock and we were all feeling tired after a 10+ hour day. After the hour-long bus ride home, we were all eager to get to bed. Overall the excursion was a great experience and gave us all a good opportunity to use telescopes with expert guidance and be able to make our own observations of the night sky.