Our Night Skies

Alice Springs is not just the centre of Australia but it's also the centre of the Universe (well we think so).

Our night skies offer clean air, clear skies, low humidity and no bright city lights and is perhaps one of the best places to explore our galaxy of stars in the night sky. And out here you can even look beyond the Milky Way!

But don't just take our word for it. Allow our very own Graduate of Swinburne Centre for Astrophysics to explain, "well it's actually after the sun goes down that the greatest wonder of the desert reveals itself. Out here the night sky is not just a flat surface directly above your head - it's an awe-inspiring dome that reaches all the way to the ground.

Many visitors to Central Australia have said that being out here was the first time they'd actually SEEN the night sky properly. That's really not surprising, because astronomically-speaking, "seeing conditions" are affected by ambient light and atmospheric and meteorological conditions. Because Central Australia is consistently excellent in these areas, once you add to that our open 360 degree horizons, then you're in one of the world's best locations for celestial visibilty. Our winter night skies are the best for atmospheric conditions.

With the naked eye you can see and appreciate the structure of the Milky Way galaxy our placement in it. That's because of the unique perspective afforded in the Southern Hemisphere - especially in Central Australia. You can look up and actually see the central galactic regions - and its all in 3D!"

See the stars and planets like you've never seen them before. Take a tour of the universe through the eyes of astronomers and be truly enchanted by the mysteries waiting to be unravelled or just kick back and be amazed at the Milky Way.

With powerful telescopes and binoculars you can see up close the craters of the moon, the rings of Saturn, stars being born and even neighbouring galaxies.

Learn how to find the Southern Cross, your Zodiac Sign and see many shooting stars.

Photos courtesy Akira Fujii/David Malin Images and Anglo-Australian Observatory.