Sutherland Astronomical Society Incorporated

17/10/2026

🪐 Can we just take a moment to appreciate how ridiculously cute Saturn is?! ✨

With those gorgeous little rings, it’s hard not to have a soft spot for the jewel of our Solar System!

Did you know Saturn’s rings are made up of countless pieces of ice and rock? Despite stretching hundreds of thousands of kilometres across, the main rings are surprisingly thin, measuring just around 10 metres thick in many places!

🔭 This beautiful image was captured by our member Thu Nguyen, using a Sky-Watcher Esprit 120 telescope and ZWO ASI662MC camera.

Thu captured 4,000 frames and stacked the best 25% to bring out the details of our favourite ringed planet!

A huge thank you to Thu for sharing this adorable little Saturn with us! 💫

16/10/2026

🔭 This Week at SASPAC – Week 6! ✨

Did you know that the Sutherland Astronomical Society (SASI) runs a beginners astronomy course once a year?

SASPAC is our 8-week introductory course, designed to help newcomers discover the wonders of the night sky! From identifying stars and constellations to understanding telescopes and exploring the universe beyond our Solar System, the course combines fascinating discussions with hands-on activities to help participants develop their astronomy skills.

🌙 This week was all about Deep Sky Objects!

In Week 6, our participants explored some of the most spectacular sights in the night sky, including:

✨ Nebulae – enormous clouds of gas and dust, some of which are stellar nurseries where new stars are born.

⭐ Star Clusters – beautiful collections of stars, from loosely grouped open clusters to densely packed globular clusters containing thousands or even millions of stars.

💫 Galaxies – vast systems of stars, gas and dust, including our own Milky Way!

With just two weeks remaining, our participants are well on their way to becoming confident amateur astronomers!

🔭 Interested in exploring the universe yourself? SASPAC runs once a year, so follow our page to hear about next year’s course!

StarClusters AmateurAstronomy SydneyAstronomy Stargazing

16/10/2026

🌌 A cosmic eye staring back at us! 👁️🔭

Meet the Helix Nebula (NGC 7293), sometimes nicknamed the Eye of God thanks to its striking resemblance to a giant eye in space!

Located approximately 650 light-years away in the constellation Aquarius, the Helix Nebula is one of the closest bright planetary nebulae to Earth.

Despite the name, planetary nebulae have nothing to do with planets! They’re formed when ageing stars shed their outer layers of gas into space, leaving behind a hot, dense core called a white dwarf. The ultraviolet radiation from this stellar remnant causes the surrounding gas to glow, creating spectacular structures like the Helix Nebula.

📸 This stunning image was captured by our very own SASI President using a Seestar smart telescope, with an impressive 406 minutes (6 hours and 46 minutes) of imaging time!

✨ Just one of the incredible sights hiding in our night sky.

Seestar AstronomyAustralia DeepSkyPhotography

16/10/2026

🌘 We’re now on Instagram! 🔭✨

The Sutherland Astronomical Society Inc. (SASI) is excited to be joining Instagram!

We’re a community of astronomy enthusiasts brought together by a shared love of the night sky.

Whether you’re an experienced astronomer, just getting started with your first telescope, or simply someone who loves looking up at the stars, there’s a place for you here!

We’ll be sharing astrophotography from our members, upcoming events, observing tips, fascinating facts about the universe, and plenty of reasons to look up!

✨ Follow along as we explore the universe together, one clear night at a time.

Clear skies! 🔭

Stargazing NightSky AstronomyCommunity

02/07/2026

Special Discounted Prices for 2026 SASPAC Course!

We recognise that people are doing it tough in the cost of living crisis, so we are dropping the price of our Practical Astronomy Couse this year. For non-members, the price is now reduced from $350 to $250 for the 8-week course. Please see the updated flyer attached, or visit https://www.sasi.net.au/public-events/courses

23/03/2026

Our Famous Practical Astronomy Course is on again from 26 August 2026!

This is an 8-week course to teach you everything about amateur astronomy with hands-on activities at our observatory in Oyster Bay.

Details here: https://www.sasi.net.au/public-events/courses

21/03/2026

It's Star Night Season!

Bookings are now open from April to September for groups of 16 to 30 people to visit our observatory and see the night sky through our telescopes.

Details available on our website:

Sutherland Astronomical Society Inc

15/09/2025

Petition for National Legislation for Light Pollution Regulation and Dark Sky Preservation.

Hi SASI friends,
We try not to impose on our valued followers, but there is a very important petition to try and limit light pollution so we can continue to see the wonders of the sky at night, even from our suburban location in Oyster Bay. In the last 10 years I have noticed the sky is getting so bright that there are objects like faint galaxies that we can no longer see at all, and we have lost our view of the Milky Way entirely. If we don't do something about it, our children won't be able to see stars, and if we can't see something we unfortunately won't care about it. It would be a shame for future generations to not ask the big questions about the universe because they can't see the stars to be inspired to think about it.

The petition's closing date is 19 September, and we have 9,060 signatures of the required 10,000 for the petition to be heard in parliament. So, we need an additional 940 signatures in the next 4 days.

Please sign the petition via the link below and pass it on to all your contacts for their help.

https://www.aph.gov.au/e-petitions/petition/EN7346

Kind regards and clear skies,
Craig Goulden
Secretary
Sutherland Astronomical Society Inc

e-petitions

31/08/2025

2025 August Open Night Recap.
It was another clear night last night, and it seemed everyone enjoyed the experience. Thank you to all who attended as this event makes a major contribution to our astronomical society being able to fund the expense of maintaining an observatory for the education and entertainment of the community. I hope we contributed to some budding young astronomers heading down the path of a career in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. 🔭👩‍🎓👩‍🏫
For photos of the night, visit our website at

28/07/2025

Our Public Open Nights have been postponed!
Due to rain forecast for this Friday and Saturday, we have postponed our public astronomy nights.
The new dates are Friday 29 and Saturday 30 August.

Apart from the dates, the details are the same as previously advertised. See: https://www.sasi.net.au/public-events/august-public-open-nights

Hope to see you there!