Once you head out of the city, New South Wales is home to a slew of brilliant spots to go stargazing. And, one of the closest spots for a clearer view of the bright lights of the universe is the rugged region of the Blue Mountains.
Helping you navigate the night sky in the Blue Mountains is a brand new tour, Stargazing Astronomy Tours. These tours run every Friday and Saturday after sunset, which no doubt will tee-up perfectly with that epic weekend road-trip away.
Running from 6.30pm throughout September, 7.30pm throughout October and 8pm in December, these stargazing tours take place at the Wentworth Falls Picnic area at Jamison Lookout. If you’ve never visited, the lookout gives you a smashing 180-degree view of the lush Jamison Valley, Mount Solitary and yep, all the World Heritage-listed Greater Blue Mountains skies.
The tour itself is run by the legendary Caroline and Dimitri—Dimitri's got a badass Ph.D. in astrophysics and over 10 years' experience as an astronomy guide at Sydney Observatory, Mt John Observatory at Lake Tekapo (New Zealand) and at the luxe resort Emirates One&Only Wolgan Valley. So yeah, expect all the celestial facts and info.
Your night will kick-off with a quick introduction of the history of the Blue Mountains over time and then you’ll get some tips and hacks on how to identify stars and constellations with the naked eye, as well as the lowdown on the celestial dance of planets, satellites, navigation, our home galaxy and beyond.
You’ll also get to observe the night sky through a professional-grade telescope and (pending the time of year and night) feast your eyes on the moon and its craters and seas, Saturn’s rings, the moons of Jupiter, Mars, Venus, the Orion Nebula, star clusters, double and triple stars, other galaxies and of course, the good old Milky Way.
To top your night off and warm those fingers, you’ll also get to sip on some complimentary vegan hot chocolate or organic tea (pick your poison).
At the moment, tours have a max of 10 people and tickets will only set you back $60 per person. Alternatively, you can book the whole tour out for $550. Jamison Lookout is also very accessible and wheelchair friendly, there’s also plenty of parking in the area. There are toilets nearby and a wooden bench to rest on or lay down on while you sport some binoculars.
Bookings for the tour can be made through Airbnb experiences, right here.
For more amazing stargazing spots in NSW, head over here.
Image credit: Mark de Jong
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