Mount Burnett Observatory

Making the wonders of astronomy accessible for all

Ask us about our schools, scouts and early learning programs! Update on visiting the observatory Check out our Youtube Livestream channel Young Observers Code Club every month Gift memberships available. Email us at info-at-mbo-org-au

MBO Livestream channel

Membership Information

MBO Presents

Our next Public Event is

Our next Member Event is

Friday Member’s Night – Astrophography with Neil

December 3 @ 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm AEDT ZOOM

Public Viewings

Your guided tour of the night sky under the dome

Community Outreach

Volunteer-run, funded by members & donations

Specialist programs

Radio astronomy, art and astronomy, and more

Family Friendly

Our young observers program is aimed at children 5-16.

Mount Burnett Observatory Inc. is a not-for-profit astronomical society based at Mount Burnett in the Dandenong Ranges east of Melbourne. The Observatory was originally built in 1972 by Monash University.

MBO formally took over the site in 2011, and built it up to a thriving community observatory. Our aim is to preserve the facility and to use it to promote astronomy and science to the broader community.

MBO acknowledges that they are meeting on the lands of the Wurunjeri people and the Bunurong people of the South East Kulin nation.

Mount Burnett Astronomical Society

How To Get Involved

Young Observers

Our monthly program designed specifically for children up to 16. Hands-on, fun and education for the whole family.

Outreach Team

We love Space and love to share the love! Outreach is a fantastic team of volunteers.

Volunteer Today!

Radio Astronomers Group

Did you know you can also listen to the cosmos? Find out more about Radio Astronomy and join our group!

Deep Sky Group

Want to take your practical astronomy to the next level? Learn how to find those faint galaxies and nebulae with our Deep Sky Experts

Become A Member

Membership gives you 12 months unlimited access to MBO facilities, resources, library and special members events and offers.

Astro Arts Group

Astronomy and art are intertwined. Find out how you can explore your artistic astronomy side!

Astro Arts Group

Support MBO

MBO is run by volunteers and supported by our members.

You can support MBO with your donations

Help Support Your MBO

Don’t Miss Out

Upcoming: Observatory booked for private function

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News

An alternative to buying a star name

August 12, 2021/by jamie

Australians Have a Chance to Name a Star and Exoplanet

July 31, 2019/by jamie

Behind the scenes at MBO

July 1, 2019/by jamie

Einstein A Go Go – RRR Science Podcast

April 6, 2019/by bish

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Become A Member

Membership gives you 12 months unlimited access to MBO facilities, resources, library and special members events and offers.

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The Mount Burnett Observatory, a community astronomical observatory in the Dandenong Ranges.

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A Blue-Banded Blood Moon - via @apod from NASA https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/

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The Extraordinary Spiral in LL Pegasi by Jonathan Lodge - via @apod from NASA https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/

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With Melbourne lockdown finished we are back to we

With Melbourne lockdown finished we are back to welcoming visitors to the Observatory. What better way to start than showing our friends from the Phillip Island astronomy Club. See our main site link in the bio for events, openings and membership. see you all soon! #mountburnettobservatory #phillipislandastronomyclub #astronomy #astrophotography #telescopes #heritagetelescope #scienceoutreach

This is Kim, one of our volunteers posing next to

This is Kim, one of our volunteers posing next to the nearest defib to Mount Burnett Observatory. The defib is at Emerald Library, 8.5km away, 9 minutes on a narrow, winding country road, and is only accessible during library opening hours. As astronomy is mainly a night time and weekend activity, there is no guarantee we would be safely be able to get to Emerald Library in time if there was a medical emergency, and the library would likely be closed anyway.
A lot of MBO's members are elderly and retired, and looking after our members is top priority. A defib has been on the list for a long time, but is financially out of reach for a volunteer organisation that receives no ongoing government funding. A defib would certainly bring peace of mind to MBO as we are a tightly knit community that is a second home and family to a lot of people. Nominating Mount Burnett Observatory Inc as a worthy recipient of a community defibrillator. #mynearestdefib #stjohnvic #mountburnettobservatory

The globular cluster NGC 104 (or 47 Tucanae) was t

The globular cluster NGC 104 (or 47 Tucanae) was the first stars that MBO member @stuart.markus saw through his telescope - and he is still fascinated with them as this recent image he has taken shows!
At an apparent magnitude of 4.1 and at about 50 arcminutes across, it is as large as the full moon in our sky. Though due to its southern location it was not catalogued by European astronomers until 1750. Located 4.0 ± 0.35 kpc (13,000 ± 1,100 ly) away in the constellation Tucana (Toucan) it is the second brightest globular cluster in the sky, holding 2-3 million stars and with a black hole possibly at its centre.
What was the object in the sky that first captured your imagination?
#astrophotography #astrophotographer #mountburnettobservatory

The Sun on October 12 as captured by MBO member @n

The Sun on October 12 as captured by MBO member @nikki.usatov . This is a close up of Sunspot 2882 and solar flares on the edge of the disk.
The image is a composite of a surface image and an image to highlight the fainter solar flares, Nikki used a double-stacked @luntsolarsystems 50mm hydrogen-alpha scope and a @zwoasi camera (ZWO ASI178MM) mounted on a Saxon NEQ6 Pro. The images were captured using Firecapture, and processed and stacked using PIPP, AutoStakkert, Registax and Photoshop.
#solarphotography #astrophotography #Lunt #zwoasi #mountburnettobservatory

We don't post about all our Member Nights here on

We don't post about all our Member Nights here on our Public Instagram page, but this is definitely one you won't want to miss. A great kick start to your membership! Go to the link on our bio!

On the 22nd October we have a special guest speaker - and it is one to get excited about!

Pete Williamson, a Freelance astronomer working with education remote observatories across the globe, also a BBC Radio astronomical presenter and former Rock Musician.

This talk takes you in so many different paths, it has been branded a very interesting and out of the box experience. It covers how Music and The Heavens have a symbiotic relationship from so many different standpoints.

The talk starts in Palaeolithic times travels through Herschel’s involvement with Music, Hawkwind’s development of Space Rock right up to present day production of music using natural sounds for the universe. #mountburnettobservatory

A fabulous and rich deep-sky image from MBO member

A fabulous and rich deep-sky image from MBO member @paulmilvain . There are so many objects in this image, however the bright open star cluster in the lower centre of the image is NGC1733 (in the 'Dorado' constellation). 'This', says Paul, 'is the very basic start for another image that will probably take a couple of months for data gathering.'
taken with his trusty @sidereal.trading 10" F4 carbon fibre tube newtonian, coupled with a @zwoasi ASI2600MM camera, mounted on an @ioptron_telescopes CEM70G centre balanced equatorial mount. Images taken when the Moon had set, 36 X 120 second exposures each of red, green and blue. Processed over breakfast. #astrophotography #astronomy #mountburnettobservatory #siderealtrading #zwo #zwoasi2600mmpro

Spectacular image of the Helix Nebula by MBO astro

Spectacular image of the Helix Nebula by MBO astrophotographer @paulmilvain . The Helix Nebula is a planetary nebula located in the constellation Aquarius. Discovered by Karl Ludwig Harding, probably before 1824, this object is one of the closest to the Earth of all the bright planetary nebulae. The distance, measured by the #ESAGaia mission, is 655±13 light-years.
This is an LRGB colour image overlaid with HA and Oiii narrowband data, 22 X Red, Green, Blue, Luminance subs totalling approx 7.3 hours between them, but 92 X ten minute HA (15.3 hours) and 96 X 10 minute (16 hours) of Oiii.
Stacked and the LRGB image generated in Astro Pixel Processor, the RGB image overlaid with the narrowband data in Photoshop and endless hours spent teasing out detail. Without doubt my longest single panel image to date.
Shot with a @sidereal.trading carbon fibre tube 10"F4 Newtonian scope and a ZWO ASI2600MM Pro cooled camera, Astronomik LRGB and 6NM HA/Oiii filters. Mounted on an #iOptron CEM70G mount and guided via a ZWO off axis guider attached to the filter wheel, and fitted with a ZWO ASI290MM mini guide camera.
#astrophotography #mountburnettobservatory #siderealtrading #zwoasi #helixnebula #nebula

A Night at the Observatory 10. Join the volunteers

A Night at the Observatory 10. Join the volunteers at Mount Burnett Observatory for our Free, tenth virtual educational journey. This tour of the cosmos is about the Solar System! The Sun, Venus, Mars and Moons are just some of the topics that presenters will be taking you on a celestial tour of during our next astronomy live stream.
The event runs for approximately one hour with time for questions afterwards. This event is family friendly, and all are welcome, no matter your level of space knowledge. We will be simulcasting on YouTube as well.
Remember, this is a free event! Do not provide your credit card details to anyone asking for them in our name. You do not need to book for this event! This is a FREE event that does not require you to book, create an account or provide payment details. Go to the link in our bio to get the Facebook link.

The constellation of Ara ('the Altar') as imaged b

The constellation of Ara ('the Altar') as imaged by MBO astrophotographer Peter Lieverdink ( @cafooego ). In ancient Greek mythology, In Greek mythology Ara was identified as the altar where the gods first made offerings and formed an alliance before defeating the Titans. It is one of the southernmost constellations depicted by Ptolemy. peter say; "The large nebula is NGC 6188. Just to the right of that you can see a small weird oval shape. That is NGC 6164, a nebula created by an ultra-bright-hot Wolf-Rayet star. It has a very faint outer envelope about four times the size of what you can see here, but I think I will need actual dark skies for that instead of the murky tea I get at home"
This is 90 x 20 second exposures with the lens open too wide - probably 200mm f/2.
#astrophotography #mountburnettobservatory #constellationara #ngc6188 #ngc6164

This image taken by MBO astrophotographer Stuart M

This image taken by MBO astrophotographer Stuart Markus ( @stuart.markus ) of the blue reflection nebulae NGC 6726/6727 (RH of image) and IC 4812 (LH of picture). The colour comes from bright stars embedded in a large cloud of dust which reflects the blue light of the stars. NGC6726 is 450 light years away in the constellation of Corona Australis, it was discovered by Johann Friedrich Julius Schmidt in 1861. This image also features Bernes 157 which is dark nebula that is so dense that stars inside the nebula and behind it cannot shine through
Processed in PixInsight and Light Room
Total Integration time of 10 hours.
#astrophotography #astronomy #nebula #nebulae #mountburnettobservatory #coronaaustralis #darknebula

The Helix Nebula (NGC 7293 or Caldwell 63) capture

The Helix Nebula (NGC 7293 or Caldwell 63) captured in its glory by MBO astrophotographer Steve Wilkins (@stevegwilkins ). He captured this(apparently) while asleep!
The Helix nebula is a planetary nebula, formed by an intermediate to low-mass star sheds its outer layers towards the end of it stellar evolution. It is one of the nearest planetary nebula to us at about 650 light-years (200 parsecs) away, located in the constellation Aquarius.
Robotic imaging from an observatory using voyager Astrophotography Automation, a Takahashi FSQ-85ED 'Baby Q' telescope and a ZWO ASI1600MM Pro camera.
#astrophotography #zwo #takahashi #mountburnettobservatory #voyagerastronomysoftware #nebula #nebulae #helixnebula #planetarynebula #eyeofgod #eyeofgodnebula #eyeofsauron

The spectacular star forming region known as the '

The ancient solar observatory at Chankillo in Peru

The ancient solar observatory at Chankillo in Peru has just been added to the UNESCO World heritage list.
This ancient site is far older than our own Mount Burnett Observatory. Archaeological evidence indicates that Chankillo may be the earliest known astronomical observatory in the Americas. Built over 2,300 years ago, the site includes a temple, a plaza, and thirteen towers constructed from cut stone. Evidence at Chankillo suggests that sun worship existed in the Andes around two millennia before the well-known sun cult of the Inca Empire. The thirteen towers of Chankillo, situated between two observation platforms, span the entire annual rising and setting arc of the sun, which gradually shifts along the horizon over the course of a year.
#astronomy #ancientobservatory #famousobservatories #mountburnettobservatory #solarobservatory #solarastronomy #unescoworldheritage #unesco #worldmonumentsfund

The spectacular Aurora Australis, the 'Southern Li

The spectacular Aurora Australis, the 'Southern Lights' with the Milky way in the left background. taken in March 2018 on an aurora chasing 'Flight to the Lights' out of Christchurch NZ by MBO member Barb Went (@mollyandmyrle ). These were taken using: Nikon D750, Samyang 14mm at F2.4, ISO12800, 4 sec shutter speed. barb's quote: "this was an amazing experience!" It sure looks it.
We covered even more Aurora stories at our recent (online) Member's Night. There we followed the northern adventures of MBO member Belinda Wickens in Norway and Canada. If you are a member you can see these on or member's youtube channel. if you are not a member - then join up now! Follow the page link in our bio.
#astrophotography #aurora #auroraaustralis #mountburnettobservatory #astronomy

We're back with public events! Mount Burnett Obser

We're back with public events!
Mount Burnett Observatory is excited to offer a free community stargazing night for hills residents, many of whom were severely affected by the recent storms. Our volunteers will show you the wonders of the night sky, while our special guests from Swinburne University will provide some amazing indoor displays using VR technology. Book your tickets to join us for this family friendly, Covid-safe, alcohol-free event. We thank Emerald Football Club for their assistance in making this event possible.
For COVID Safe compliance, entrants require a FREE ticket which can be booked using the 'Tickets' link/button on our website (see bio for link).
#astronomy #astronomyphotography #outreach #publicoutreach #mountburnettobservatory #dandenongranges #emerald #emeraldfootballclub #stargazing

An evocative image of the 'Wolf Nebula' by MBO mem

An evocative image of the 'Wolf Nebula' by MBO member Stuart Markus (@stuart.markus ). It is certainly not difficult to see the monstrous wolf-like creature in this image - hence its other name the Fenrir Nebula (or more prosaically SL-17) after the giant wolf in Norse mythology, son of the god Loki and giantess Angrboða.
The nebula is a heavy dense dusty region obscuring the light from the background stars, while the reddish sections are emission nebula. It is located in the constellation of Scorpius.
Stewart used:
Orion 120 ED on IOptron CEM26 Mount
ZWO ASI294MM Pro
#mountburnettobservatory #astrophotography #nebula #scorpio #fenrir #fenrirnebula #wolfnebula #astronomy #zwoasi #zwo #oriontelescopes
120 sec x 30 Astrodon RGB
180 sec x 40 Astrodon Ha
5 hours Integration, processed in PixInsight and Light Room

The emission nebula known as the 'Prawn Nebula' al

The emission nebula known as the 'Prawn Nebula' also known as Gum 56 or IC 4628.
This fabulous image was taken by MBO atrophotographer Steve Wilkins (@stevegwilkins ) using the SHO2 palette so the yellow corresponds to hydrogen.
The Prawn Nebula was discovered by the American astronomer Edward Emerson Barnard around 1900. IC 4628 was catalogued as Gum 56 by the Australian astronomer Colin Stanley Gum, who published his catalogue of H II regions in 1955.
It is a stellar nursery that contains a large number of very hot, luminous, young stars, formed out of the surrounding gas.
It is located in the constellation Scorpius. It has an apparent magnitude of 7.31 and lies at a distance of 6,000 light years from Earth. Located to the south of Antares, the nebula is about 250 light years in diameter, corresponding to an apparent size of 1.5 degrees, or 3-4 times the size of the full Moon.
#nebula #astrophotography #deepsky #deepskyphotography #mountburnettobservatory

International Asteroid day (30 June 2021) was dec

International Asteroid day (30 June 2021) was declared by the United Nations in 2016 to "observe each year at the international level the anniversary of the Tunguska impact over Siberia, Russian Federation, on 30 June 1908, and to raise public awareness about the asteroid impact hazard."
This image is of Vesta, taken by #nasa #jpl #caltech spacecraft #dawn Vesta is one of the largest objects in the asteroid belt, with a mean diameter of 525 kilometres. It was discovered by the German astronomer Heinrich Wilhelm Matthias Olbers on 29 March 1807 and is named after Vesta, the virgin goddess of home and hearth from Roman mythology.
#vesta #asteroid #unitednations #asteroidday #asteroidday2021

Great Galaxies! The magnificent Great Barred Spira

Great Galaxies! The magnificent Great Barred Spiral galaxy (NGC 1365) captured by MBO astrophotographer Steven de Lisle (@sdelisle14 ).
This galaxy is some 56 million light-years away in the constellation Fornax. Within the larger long bar stretching across the centre of the galaxy appears to be a smaller bar that comprises the core, which is more prominent in infrared images. The inner bar structure likely rotates as a whole more rapidly than the larger long bar, creating the diagonal shape seen in images.
Steven imaged this using a Sidereal Trading/Klaus Helmerichs carbon fibre F5 Newtonian
Imaging cameras: ZWO ASI1600MM-Cool ZWO ASI1600MM-Cool
Mounts: Takahashi NJP Temma 2
Guiding cameras: ZWO ASI290MM Guide Camera
Software: APP · Voyager · PixInsight 1.8 Ripley PixInsight
Filters: ZWO CCD LRGB Filter-Set 36mm
Dates: Nov. 20, 2020
Frames: 80x180" (4h)
Integration: 4h
#astrophotography #galaxy #galaxies #zwo #siderealtrading #mountburnettobservatory

On June 7 NASA's Juno spacecraft came with 1,038 k

On June 7 NASA's Juno spacecraft came with 1,038 kms of the surface of Jupiter's largest moon Ganymede. This flyby is the closest since NASA's Galileo spacecraft on May 20, 2000. The flyby will provide images and insight's into the moon's composition, ionosphere, magnetosphere, radiation environment and ice shell - all of benefit for future mission planning!
Ganymede is bigger than the planet Mercury and is the only moon in the solar system with its own magnetosphere – a bubble-shaped region of charged particles surrounding the celestial body.
The mosaic and geologic maps of Jupiter’s moon Ganymede were assembled incorporating the best available imagery from NASA’s Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft and NASA’s Galileo spacecraft.
Credits: USGS Astrogeology Science Center/Wheaton/NASA/JPL-Caltech
#nasa #ganymede #jpl #juno #nasajuno #galileo #nasagalileo #voyager #voyager1 #voyager2 #astrophysics #solarsystem

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