Wombats SA’s Moorunde Wildlife Reserve is inside the River Murray – Dark Sky Reserve
and to take advantage of that we are holding another stargazing evening at Moorunde Wildlife Reserve!

We are excited that astronomer Joe Grida has again agreed to lead this stargazing excursion at Moorunde Wildlife Reserve Changed to Saturday evening, 8th June 2024 from 7:00pm.

He brings a large portable telescope and more!

We begin with an exploration of Stars and Galaxies, etc. Joe Grida will take us on a laser pointer guided starwalk, before travelling millions of light years to a galaxy far far away.
The moon rises at 8:28 pm, so once it is well up we will study the moon as well.

If you arrive earlier, while you are waiting for darkness to fall, there might be a chance to find wombats emerging from warrens for their night time activities.

Once the Stargazing has ended, we may be able to go spotlighting to see wombats, kangaroos, etc on the Wildlife reserve.

The River Murray Dark Sky Reserve spans 3250 square kilometres in South Australia. This makes it the fifth largest dark sky reserve in our part of the world.
Being only 100 kms from a major city – Adelaide, it is quite accessible to many South Australians.

Here is a map of the Dark Sky reserve showing how Moorunde fits into this area.

 

Event Details:

• Ticket Fees:
  $31.25 per Adult to help with maintenance and enhancements of our Wildlife Reserves.
  (Incl, $1.25 Humanitix Fee and GST)
  $10.75 per Child 10-17 attending with Adult family/parents, bearing in mind the late night, cold temperatures and basic site conditions.
  (Incl, $0.75 Humanitix Fee and GST)
  You can add a donation to help us more.
• Register and Pay on Humanitix with this link
• Your host is Wombats SA committee member Peter Clements.
  Other Members will be assisting.
  If you have any questions, call Peter:  0417 881 658 or Email: peterrclements@gmail.com
  
• It will be held at our Moorunde Wildlife Reserve a few KM West of Blanchetown.
  Some of the access tracks are rough so be prepared for that and get there in daylight.
  We will send you a clear map with the best directions and access route.
• Please arrive mid- afternoon at latest. This is to give you time to set up camp and to find the telescope area while still daylight.
• As this is a late night activity, it would be advisable for participants to camp overnight (BYO tent or van etc) at the reserve.
  We do not recommend driving home late at night as kangaroos abound and wombats are about.
  If you plan to return home that evening there will be a small number leaving and we will have a guide to show the way.
• Nights are cool and usually clear, so be prepared with warm gear.
  We often have a lovely campfire to sit around, chat and warm up.
• BYO meals and drinks. We have two gas fired barbecues which can be used to cook meals. Please try to finish in time for the telescope session to commence.
• At the campsite, we have plastic stacker chairs and tables in a spacious meeting shed.
  The shed has an effective fire and 12V lighting
• You can roll out a swag and sleep under the stars or inside the shed, pitch your own tent or pull in with a caravan (Tracks are quite bumpy, so beware, you need a strong van).
  We can accommodate a limited number on the floor in our meeting shed.
  Check in advance.
• There is a long drop toilet with hand washing facilities and a shower shed, especially useful if you have a solar shower bag (or other) to hang.
• Plenty of pure rainwater is available.
• Bring Binoculars or telescope if you have one, camera, etc.
• For good astronomical viewing it is requested that you use only red light torches once out in the telescope viewing area in order to prevent retina burnout and to dark adapt the eyes.
  An ordinary torch with a red film is OK, but it must dim the torch well.
• If the sky is overcast we often go spotlighting to show you some of the wildlife that can be to be found on the reserve (places limited).
• For more information: Email Peter Clements at peterrclements@gmail.com or phone 0417 881 658.

 

Here is the star chart for April 27 2024 generated from the Heavens Above website, which can show any night/time for any location.
Enlarge or Open Image in a new Tab to see more detail.