05/08/2026
MEDIA ALERT
Stargazing at Bogan Gate for National Science Week
The Inland Astro-Trail Project and Bogan Gate Primary School are co-hosting an evening of stargazing with some of the region’s most experienced amateur astronomers on Thursday, 13 August 2026, 6 pm to 9 pm, as part of National Science Week.
This special FREE event will be held in Bogan Gate’s Hutton Street RV camping ground with the support of Parkes Shire Council and the local community. For the occasion, the site has been informally re-named the Bogan Gate Dark Sky Park(ing Lot) in recognition of the village’s very dark nights and rich astronomical heritage. (See https://inlandastrotrail.com/bogan-gate-dark-sky-parking-lot/ )
INTERVIEWS: Bogan Gate Primary School Principal, Kylie Dunn, Astronomer Alex Abbey and Dr Merrill Findlay will be available for interviews on the night.
BOOKINGS: www.123tix.com.au/events/54303/stargazing-at-bogan-gate
Food and beverages will be available from on-site vans or the Bogan Gate Pub next door. Public barbecues and picnic amenities are available for those who wish to BYO.
The evening’s program will include
• a pop-up exhibition of astro-themed artworks by local children
• a tour of the universe with Parkes science educator and co-founder of Central West Astronomical Society, Alex Abbey and his fellow astronomers, and
• close-up viewings of planets, stars and moons with telescopes
If the sky is too overcast on 13 August, the event will be postponed until Thursday, 20 August.
CELEBRATING BOGAN GATE’S UNIQUE ASTRONOMICAL HERITAGE
“Bogan Gate is located between two of Australia’s most significant astronomical sites: the world famous Parkes Observatory, home to Murriyang or ‘The Dish’, and Seven Sisters Ridge, a sacred site on the transcontinental Seven Sisters Songline which connects First Nations people to the Seven Sisters star cluster, in the Zodiac constellation of Ta**us, the Bull of Heaven,” the event’s organiser, Dr Merrill Findlay, explained.
“To Wiradjuri people, the Seven Sisters star cluster is known as Mulayndynang. To speakers of ancient Greek, the cluster was called the Pleiades. Scientists now know its as Messier 45, or M45. But stories about these stars are told in nearly every culture on our planet. They are part of all Australians’ ancestral sky-lore.”
Organisers of Stargazing at Bogan Gate hope that one day their village will be able to celebrate its unique celestial heritage with an annual festival, and that young people, especially the students of Bogan Gate Primary School, will be inspired to explore the wonders of the Universe in their future careers.
For immediate release
Contact person: Dr Merrill Findlay
Inland Astro-Trail Project
T: 61 404057162. E: [email protected] W: www.inlandastrotrail.com
M: PO Box 643, Forbes, 2871, NSW
