SAPPHIRE SKIES ASTRONOMY NIGHT 2025

Despite the looming cloud cover, longer daylight hours, and a few reschedules, we finally made it! The clouds parted just enough for everyone to enjoy a truly magical evening.

We started with a beautiful sunset through the telescopes, where students and families were able to observe a couple of small sunspots on the Sun’s surface — one of them as big as Earth itself!

As night fell, the half moon gave incredible contrast, revealing its craters and mountain ranges in stunning detail. Then came Saturn — its famous rings clearly visible, along with one of its 247 moons! While the images might look a little blurry, remember… we’re looking at a planet 1.35 billion kilometres away.

Unfortunately, the clouds rolled back in before we could catch a glimpse of the newly discovered comet C/2025 R2 (SWAN). But the night wasn’t lost — local, multi-award-winning astrophotographer Peter Abery wowed us with his breathtaking images of the night sky and shared insights into how he captures such stunning shots.

A fantastic night was had by all who attended! Here’s hoping for clearer skies in 2026 — we can’t wait to see you again next year.

On behalf of the Science Faculty, thank you!