A Perfect Night Away For The Whole Family

Dark Clear Skies Deliver Superb Views From Venus To Neptune And Beyond

It was a clear still night at Honeysuckles and our family of four who had booked their private viewing through our observatory grade telescope enjoyed breathtaking views of a host of objects. Included were Venus, ringed planet Saturn with its rings almost edge-on currently and lastly, our most distant planetary neighbour Neptune, four billion kilometres from Earth. Though a large planet, its vast distance meant Neptune was seen as a stunning small blue gas giant, way out at the end of the Solar System. Neptune takes 165 years to complete one orbit of the Sun. Saturn was large and superbly sharp in the eyepiece – our guests were spellbound by its majestic appearance.

Beyond the Solar System, Billy, Fiona, Zac and Zoe were treated to a tour of a variety of objects – stars, nebulae, spectacular clusters of stars and a large “local” galaxy. Distance of deep space destinations ranged from four light years to 13 million light years away.

After arriving at the property, the family enjoyed a long walk along our deserted ocean beach before having dinner. Being from Melbourne, as are most of our guests, they had booked a “tour with overnight stay” – the best and recommended way for Melbourne guests to enjoy their tour experience. On the morning after the tour, we provide our special omelet filled with our home grown herbs for our guests … Our “morning after” breakfast is almost as popular as the tour itself 🙂 … but not quite!)

“We booked for an overnight stay and astronomy tour and had a terrific time. Bruce was an excellent host and guide to the stars, galaxies, nebula, and planets. Viewing conditions were great and the ease of having the telescope in the backyard was super convenient. If you’ve any interest in the night sky, this is a must do stop to see what’s right above us. Thanks Bruce !”        Billy   Google