Premium Session
Your tour guide is Peter Starr who has a Master’s Degree in astronomy and is a former manager of Siding Spring Observatory.
This session is similar to The Night Sky & Telescope Viewing Session but is limited to a small group size (6 max), lasts longer, more in depth, & has some extras.
The session is aimed at adults with a keen interest on the night sky & astronomy. Children 5 years and over can come if they have a ticket and accompanied by an adult. Children under 5 years of age are not permitted unless you are booking all 6 tickets.
This session is limited to a maximum of 6 people. Minimum 2 people for the session to go ahead.
The session goes for 1 hour 45 mins to 2 hours depending on numbers attending.
The session is held outdoors, so please dress according to the weather conditions. It is very cold in the winter months.
You need to be able stand at least briefly, and take a step or 2 up a step ladder to view through the telescopes.
The Session includes:
The session consists of;
An informative astronomy talk & powerpoint presentation under the stars. We talk about our place in the Galaxy, what stars are, & how they are born, different stages of their life, and how they die.
Point out the stars and constellations with a laser pointer.
View the stars, planets*, and galaxies through our telescopes. We show stars at different parts of their life.
We may show you some live images of some objects if they are too faint to see with the eye through a telescope when the Moon is bright.
Use of a pair of binoculars, with a guided tour of the star clusters in the night sky.
Answer your astronomy questions.
If you bring a compatible DSLR Camera we can take 4 photos of deep sky objects for you. 4 photos per camera. Alternatively bring a standard size SD card to use our camera. We also sell SD Cards.
Free 6 x 4 printed photo of a deep sky object.
- * What is visible in the night sky varies through the night and through the year. There is a list of what we plan to see at the bottom of this page.
Price
Price: $120 per person
Times and Dates
Dates for May
We have cloudy nights forecasted for the remainder of May, so the Premium Session is unavailable.
Dates for June
8:30pm: 4th to 6th. 15th to 30th
Dates for July:
8:30pm: 1st to the 4th,
9:30pm: 5th & 6th. 15th to 21st
8:30pm: 22nd to 31st
Dates for August
8:30pm: 1st to 5th, 13th, 18th to 30th
Dates for September
8:30pm: 1st to the 3rd. 12th to the 26th
The session does not run on nights on or around full moon.
Bookings
Tickets can be purchased online from the iwannaticket ticketing agency.
Tickets further in advance are made by contacting Dubbo Observatory by emailing [email protected] with your name and number of tickets. Payment is by direct deposit.
Cloudy Nights
If it is overcast or raining at start time we cancel the session and issue a refund. If there is a lot of cloud and hard to tell whether the sky will improve or not we give you the option of proceeding or not.
Cancellations
3 days notice is required to receive a refund if you decide to cancel. Credit card fees are non-refundable.
If less than 3 days notice is given for any reason, a refund is only given if we can resell your ticket.
We recommend you book when you know you can definitely come.
To cancel, please email Peter Starr at [email protected]
Compatible Cameras
We use the camera body only when connecting the camera to the telescope. The telescope becomes your lens.
Canon, Nikon, DSLR Cameras where the lens can be removed are compatible.
Sony mirrorless cameras are compatible.
Canon and Nikon mirrorless cameras are compatible only if you have the adapter that can fit the DSL type lenses.
Know your camera and how to change its settings before you attend e.g. iso, exposure time, manual setting. We wont have time to work out your camera during the show and we wont be able to take 4 pictures as a result.
Make sure it can take a photo without the lens attached before you come. Some wont let you.
The camera must have a live view screen and have the ability to zoom in on the live view, otherwise images will be all out of focus.