Monday night marked by a major milestone in space exploration with the successful impact of the Deep Impact probe on the Comet "Temple1"
To coincide with this event GAA & NCL held an observing night on the primary school oval as part of the "School holiday Fun" program.
The night was well attended with lots of family's coming along for a look.
We had stunning views of Jupiter, Venus & Mercury plus a last look at Saturn as it sunk to the twilight horizon.
With the aid of a computerised star chart we were eventually able to find the comet, which was just visible.
The view of the impact from the NASA site however, was to say the least, Spectacular !
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/deepimpact/multimedia/comet_images_collection_archive_1.html
Later in the evening we were able to show off a number of deep sky Nebulas, Clusters & Galaxies.
GAA's next observing night is this Saturday the 9th of July from 6:30 pm, at our dark sky site on Dhupma rd, just 1.3km past the Nth end of the airport runway.
We will have cold drinks on sale & some essential astronomy accessories for the beginner & enthusiast alike, entry is by gold coin donation.
All you need bring is yourself & your curiosity, we provide everything else for the evening.