Astronomy Benalla

06/06/2026

The Deep sky viewing scheduled for tonight, Saturday the 6th June has been postponed till next Saturday the 13th June 5:45pm setup. Cheers AB.

01/06/2026

Exploring the June 2026 Night Skies: Planetary Massings, Occultations, and Dark Constellations

Your Essential Guide to June Naked-Eye Astronomy, Astrophotography Challenges, and tracking the Cosmic Emu

LISTEN & SHARE:
https://soundcloud.com/astrophiz/astrophiz-235-june-2026-sky-guide

In this packed episode of Astrophiz, Dr. Ian Musgrave returns to guide us through a spectacular month of celestial events for June 2026. We kick things off with the dramatic “Planet Dance” in the evening sky as Venus, Jupiter, and Mercury draw stunningly close together, forming beautiful planetary massings and triangles alongside a thin crescent moon near Castor and Pollux. In the morning skies, red Mars climbs below Saturn, heading on a trajectory toward Uranus and the Pleiades cluster.

Dr. Musgrave also breaks down key lunar phases—including viewing windows for the Lunar X and Lunar V on June 22nd—and outlines how to spot the early morning occultation of the bright star Antares on June 28th across eastern Australia. For this month’s Tangent and Astrophotography Challenge, we bust a popular social media myth about comet orbits and explain exactly how you can capture the real, measurable motion of planets and the moon against background stars over a single evening. Finally, wrap up your autumn stargazing by locating the striking silhouette of the First Nations dark constellation, the Cosmic Emu, resting neatly on the horizon at astronomical twilight.

Astrophiz 235: June 2026 Sky Guide
soundcloud.com

In Astrophiz Episode 235, Dr. Ian Musgrave joins host Brendan O'Brien to deliver your comprehensive June 2026 SkyGuide, detailing a spectacular month of naked-eye astronomy and astrophotography target

08/05/2026

Astronomy Benalla has a deep sky viewing night out at the Winton Wetlands viewing platform (Adjacent Winton Wetlands education centre) - Mokoan Rd. Tonight Saturday the 9th of May, 6:00pm setup.
Any late changes to the scheduled viewings due to weather will be announced here and shown in the calendar on our website.
www.astronomybenalla.org.au/Activities

Astronomy Benalla is a not for profit club and a gold coin donation is all it costs to look through our telescopes. Cheers AB.

08/05/2026

Astronomy Benalla has a deep sky viewing night out at the Winton Wetlands viewing platform (Adjacent Winton Wetlands education centre) - Mokoan Rd. Tomorrow night Saturday the 9th of May, 6:00pm setup.
Any late changes to the scheduled viewings due to weather will be announced here and shown in the calendar on our website.
www.astronomybenalla.org.au/Activities

Astronomy Benalla is a not for profit club and a gold coin donation is all it costs to look through our telescopes. Cheers AB.

02/05/2026

Get ready for a busy month of stargazing! ☄️🌕
Listen or read transcript:
https://astrophiz.com/2026/04/29/astrophiz-233-may-2026-skyguide-comet-c-2025-r3-meteor-showers-and-sun-grazers/
The May SkyGuide is here! This month, we’re tracking the Eta Aquariid meteor shower—one of the year's best for Southern Hemisphere observers—and preparing for a rare Monthly Blue Moon on May 31st.

Join Dr. Ian Musgrave and Brendan O’Brien as they walk you through:
✅ How to spot Comet C/2025 R3 (PANSTARRS) ☄️
✅ The "Planet Dance" of Venus, Jupiter, and Mars 🪐
✅ Tips for joining the latest Sun-grazing comet citizen science projects ☀️

Listen now for free and ad-free: [Link to Episode/Website]



Astrophiz 233: May 2026 SkyGuide – Comet C/2025 R3, Meteor Showers, and Sun-Grazers - Astrophiz: The Astronomy and Astrophysics Podcast
astrophiz.com
Fri 10:59 AM
Brendan O'Brien
Get ready for a busy month of stargazing! ☄️🌕
Listen or read transcript.
The May SkyGuide with Dr Ian Musgrave is here! This month, we’re tracking the Eta Aquariid meteor shower—one of the year's best for Southern Hemisphere observers—and preparing for a rare Monthly Blue Moon on May 31st.

Join Dr. Ian Musgrave and Brendan O’Brien as they walk you through:
✅ How to spot Comet C/2025 R3 (PANSTARRS) ☄️
✅ The "Planet Dance" of Venus, Jupiter, and Mars 🪐
✅ Tips for joining the latest Sun-grazing comet citizen science projects ☀️

Listen now for free and ad-free:

https://astrophiz.com/2026/04/29/astrophiz-233-may-2026-skyguide-comet-c-2025-r3-meteor-showers-and-sun-grazers



Astrophiz 233: May 2026 SkyGuide – Comet C/2025 R3, Meteor Showers, and Sun-Grazers - Astrophiz: The Astronomy and Astrophysics Podcast
astrophiz.com

In this episode of Astrophiz, we go “eye on the sky” for May 2026. Dr. Ian Musgrave returns for our monthly SkyGuide, detailing the best times to view the Eta Aquariid meteor shower, the rare occultation of Antares, and the progress of Comet C/2025 R3 PANSTARRS. In ‘Ian’s Tangent’, we also...

18/04/2026

Astronomy Benalla has a deep sky viewing night out at the Winton Wetlands viewing platform (Adjacent Winton Wetlands education centre) - Mokoan Rd. Tonight Saturday the 18th of April, 6:00pm setup.
Any late changes to the scheduled viewings due to weather will be announced here and shown in the calendar on our website.
www.astronomybenalla.org.au/Activities

Astronomy Benalla is a not for profit club and a gold coin donation is all it costs to look through our telescopes. Cheers AB.

15/04/2026

With Dr Brad Tucker – I just got recognized as one of their top fans! 🎉

06/04/2026

Artemis II is getting closer to the Moon!

Later today (early tomorrow morning US) Artemis II will be close enough to the Moon that it starts to feel the gravity of the Moon more than Earth.

At 4:45am tomorrow Australian Eastern (2:45pm US Eastern) Artemis II will start getting close to the path and about to enter its trajectory around it.

At 9:02am tomorrow AEST (7:02pm EST), Artemis II will be at its closest point to the Moon. 3 minutes later, it will be at its further point from Earth - 406, 773 km (252, 757 miles)

So tonight, when the Moon rises a few hours after Sunset, waive to the Moon as there will be four people approaching it!

As they've headed to the Moon, they have taken some amazing snaps. This photo by Reid Wiseman is amazing. You can see not only the Earth. but if you look closely, you can see the green glow of the aurora at the North and South poles. The glow of light at the bottom right is called Zodiacal light - light from the Sun scattered by dust and particles in space (you can also see it on Earth).

Image Credit: NASA/Reid Wiseman

31/03/2026

April is awesome!
Key Highlights for April 2026:

The Tangent: Why some comets receive "doom and gloom" social media treatment while others—like the spectacular Comet McNaught—pass by with little fanfare.
The Double Comet Watch: Tracking the stability of C/2026 A1 (MAPS)and the arrival of C/2025 R3 (PANSTARRS).
Morning Planetary Alignment: How to observe the tight grouping of Mercury, Mars, and Saturn (best seen around April 16th).
Evening Highlights: Venus climbing higher in the west and Jupiter’s alignment with the "Sickle of Leo."

Lunar Phenomena: Specific windows to witness the Lunar X and Lunar A on April 24th.

The Tangent: Why some comets receive "doom and gloom" social media treatment while others—like the spectacular Comet McNaught—pass by with little fanfare.
Listen on Soundcloud:
https://soundcloud.com/astrophiz/april-2026-skyguide
(also on Apple podcasts, Audible Podcasts, Youtube Podcasts and Spotify)

Full transcript & audio link:
https://astrophiz.com/2026/03/31/astrophiz-231-april-2026-skyguide-two-rare-comets-and-the-morning-planet-dance/

SkyGuide April 2026: Two Rare Comets and the Morning Planet Dance
soundcloud.com
Brendan O'Brien
Website & Transcript:
https://astrophiz.com/2026/03/31/astrophiz-231-april-2026-skyguide-two-rare-comets-and-the-morning-planet-dance/

Astrophiz 231: April 2026 SkyGuide – Two Rare Comets and the Morning Planet Dance - Astrophiz: The Astronomy and Astrophysics Podcast
astrophiz.com

Listen Now: https://soundcloud.com/astrophiz/april-2026-skyguide Episode 231: The April 2026 SkyGuide Featuring Dr. Ian ‘Astroblog’ Musgrave Will April bring a “Headless Comet” to our skies? In this monthly installment, Brendan O’Brien sits down with Dr. Ian Musgrave to navigate a particul...

30/03/2026