Before I left Sydney I really wanted to visit the Sydney Observatory. Being in the Southern Hemisphere, the constellations are completely different. No Big Dipper or North Star?! But, alas, they have the Southern Cross (which is on their flag).
Now, seeing how this is at night and I only have a phone, I couldn't really take photos. But here's the first telescope we looked through. It's about 140 years old (oldest operating telescope in the Southern Hemisphere).
Our guide was Carlos. His deprecating humor, Spanish accent and knowledge made him a great guide. We first stepped outside and saw the full moon and Southern Cross. We then looked through the telescope pictured above and saw Saturn (very faint) and Venus (incredibly bright, even to the naked eye). One unexpected cool thing about being in a small observatory dome is the echos. On the other side of the room, Carlos' voice will boom. But then I'll hear the little boy whispering to his mom as if he's in my ear. Crazy. Like you have voices in your head.
We then went to another observatory. This was a more up-to-date telescope (aimed with a computer, not by hand). We saw a cluster of stars that were 1,600 light years away and 60 light years wide. It appeared as a bunch of pinhead white dots. Next we saw Neptune with its blueish hue. Finally, we looked at the full moon. Wow. That was bright to stare at, but I got to see the craters up close.
Lastly, we went and saw a 3D movie that gave a bit more perspective on just how freaking huge the Universe is.
Overall, it was a lot of fun. However, I was hoping to learn more about the Southern Hemisphere constellations but still worth the trip.
Tomorrow I leave for Cairns (pronounced "cans"). There I'll see a rain forest and the Great Barrier Reef. I'll write up this last trip of mine probably on Monday.
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