SRAA - Scenic Rim Astronomy Association

27/04/2026

Have you ever seen a star explode?

A rare event could happen any night now — and you may be able to see it from your backyard.

The “Blaze Star” (T Coronae Borealis) is forecast to erupt in 2026.
It only happens about once every 80 years, making this a true once-in-a-lifetime event.

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What is it?

This isn’t a supernova that destroys a star — it’s a nova.

A white dwarf star pulls material from a nearby star until it suddenly releases a burst of energy, causing it to brighten dramatically for a short time.

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What will you see?

A new bright star will suddenly appear in the sky.
It should be visible to the naked eye for a few days to about a week, then fade away again.

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How to watch for it

Look north after dark when Arcturus is well above the horizon.
Then move slightly to the right to a small arc of stars called Corona Borealis.

Watch that area — if a new bright star appears, you’re seeing it.

(Brisbane sky charts are attached)

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Best viewing time guide

Brisbane – when you’re most likely to see it

2026 Best viewing window
May 9:00 pm – midnight
June 7:00 pm – 10:00 pm
July 6:00 pm – 8:30 pm
August 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm
September 6:45 pm – 8:00 pm (low in the west/north-west)

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Important

It has not happened yet.
There will be no warning.
When it does happen, it will be noticed worldwide very quickly.

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This is something most people will never see in their lifetime.
Keep an eye on the sky — you might catch it.

(Who knows, you could be the first to report it, like a 15-year-old boy in Wales (Michael Woodman) who was credited with being among the first to notice the last eruption of the Blaze Star in 1946
He saw a “new bright star” appear in Corona Borealis, about as bright as Polaris, and reported it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T_Coronae_Borealis

13/04/2026

Comet C/2025 R3 (Pan-STARRS) captured from my backyard this morning ( April 12th) over the eastern horizon before sunrise. It’s now 77 million miles away, 14 million miles closer than my last photo on April 8th!

You can currently find it in the constellation Pegasus, low in the eastern sky just before dawn. Its magnitude 5.1 should be visible with the naked eye under a very dark sky. I saw it with my binoculars only as a fuzzy star from my light polluted yard. The comet looks much better now as it’s brightened and the Moon is not interfering as much.
Over the next few weeks, things get exciting:
• It reaches perihelion (closest to the Sun) around April 20
• Makes its closest approach to Earth about a week later (~45 million miles)
• Expected to brighten steadily, with the tail becoming more pronounced as solar heating increases

Next week should be the best time to catch a glimpse or a photo of the comet as it should brighten significantly and the Moon will no longer interfering. The Comet is more easily observed from the Northern Hemisphere right now, but once it emerges from the Sun at the end of the month it will be an evening comet for the Southern Hemisphere. This could be when it’s at its brightest.

I used my RASA8 telescope for this shot which brought out a lot more detail in the tail versus my photo from a couple a days ago.

Follow for regular updates!

Telescope: 8” RASA f/2
Camera: Zwo ASI2600MC Pro
Exposure: 15 x 1min
Mount: Zwo AM5
Guiding: ASI120mini, 30mm scope
Filter: None
Software: ASI Air, DSS, Pixinsight

10/04/2026

Artemis II may be worth a look this Saturday morning, with the best viewing time likely around 5:00 am AEST, before nautical twilight.

At that time, the spacecraft is expected to still be about 65,000 km away, so binoculars or a small telescope will probably be needed.

NASA has not published any brightness forecasts, so it is hard to know how easy Artemis II will be to see. Its visibility will depend on how much sunlight is reflecting from the spacecraft at the time. We may get lucky and catch an “Artemis flare.”

Sunrise in Brisbane is 6:02 am AEST.

Re-entry is expected at around 9:55 am AEST, over the Pacific, between Hawaii and California.

You can track NASA’s Artemis II mission in real time here:
https://www.nasa.gov/missions/artemis/artemis-2/track-nasas-artemis-ii-mission-in-real-time/

NASA says:
“Using AROW, anyone with internet access can track where Orion and the crew are, including their distance from Earth, distance from the Moon, mission duration, and more.”

AROW is also available via:
NASA’s website: www.nasa.gov/trackartemis
The NASA app: www.nasa.gov/nasa-app

Finder charts for Brisbane:
https://www.heavens-above.com/artemis2/LunarReturnFinder.aspx?lat=-27.469&lng=153.0235&loc=City+of+Brisbane&alt=0&tz=UCTm10&ticks=639114444000000000

Attached finder charts are for the 5:00 am Brisbane view, along with a position table showing distance, altitude, azimuth, and RA.

09/04/2026

Heads up, on Monday 20th APRIL there is a nice conjunction of MERCURY, MARS and SATURN visible in the east before dawn.

COMET C/2025 R3 (Panstarrs) might be a nice bonus. Current forecast is mag +8.0 so break out your binoculars and find a dark site.

This view is at 5:00 am AEST from Brisbane

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What about catching sight of NEPTUNE :

At about magnitude +7.9, Neptune is within reach of some binoculars, but it is usually difficult:

The bigger challenge is not just brightness. Neptune looks like a faint star in binoculars, not a visible blue disc. So even if your binoculars can detect it, identifying which “star” is Neptune usually requires a chart or app.

In practice:
• Under suburban skies, most people will struggle
• Under dark rural skies, 10x50s can sometimes show it
• To confidently identify Neptune, a small telescope is much easier

08/04/2026

** Saturday, Apr 11, is a public viewing night at Laravale.

The cloud forecast is 50/50 or better at present. Please email [email protected] if you are planning to come along.

Here's the plan:
• Come to 77 Christmas Creek Rd, Laravale.
• Please arrive by sunset (5.35 pm) so you can park easily in the light.
• Observing from about 1 hour after sunset (6.35 pm) until 9.00 or 10.00 pm, leave anytime. When leaving, please try to minimise headlight use until you are well away from the telescopes.
• Bring plenty of warm clothes, any binos or telescopes you have.
• BYO BBQ / dinner from 5.30 pm.
• You may prefer to bring sandwiches or something quick to eat, or buy something like pizza or Subway in Beaudesert. A thermos of something hot to drink is a good idea.
• We ask a $5 donation per person over 12. Please bring cash.

What's in the Sky...
• Sunset 5.35 pm. Alignment stars visible 6.15 pm. Dark by 6.52 pm. A 39% Moon rises around 1 am.
• Uranus sets at 7.37 pm, visible in low the west in binos or telescope.
• Jupiter sets at 10.53 pm, observable in the west. The Red Spot transits at 10.39 pm, so it may be visible by about 9.30pm.
• Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Orion, and Corvus, plus the Southern Cross, Carina and the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) will be well displayed.
• Come and see the Eskimo, Eight Burst, Ghost of Jupiter and Tarantula nebulas, the Great Nebula in Orion, the Gem and Southern Pleiades clusters, globular cluster 47 Tucane, and galaxies M95 and M96, plus the Leo Trio.

08/02/2026

The Public Viewing last night was a great night, the cloud stayed away until 10 pm. Clear skies, good seeing! Marvellous.

After months of cloudy nights it was good to have the scopes out of storage 😉

For anyone who has SkySafari App, and wondered about upgrade to version 8 discount pricing….
They told me today:

“We will discount the cost toward the end of the month. Owners of lower and previous versions will receive an in app notification when the discount goes live.”

https://skysafariastronomy.com

https://www.facebook.com/share/1AV1AeFHwR/?mibextid=wwXIfr

20/01/2026

The aurora from Laravale last night. It would have been better without the distant light.
I have added two images by Michael Rice taken on his mobile from Laravale as well.

25/12/2025

Merry Christmas all! 🎄

O Christmas tree, o cosmic tree 🎄

Located about 2,500 light-years from Earth, NGC 2264 is a cluster of young stars between one and five million years old. The stars appear as blue and white lights surrounded by swirls of gas—the “pine needles” of the tree—with green representing light in the visible spectrum.

The image combines data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and optical data from astrophotographer Michael Clow’s telescope.

Learn more: https://go.nasa.gov/3L9XAPQ

20/12/2025

Hi all

We finally have an evening with a good chance of clear skies, so the public viewing tonight is going ahead.

Here's the plan:
* Come to 77 Christmas Creek Rd, Laravale. Full directions here.

* Please arrive by sunset (6.35 pm) so you can park easily in the light.

* Observing from about 1 hour after sunset (7.35 pm) until 9.00 or 10.00 pm, leave anytime. When leaving, please try to minimise headlight use until you are well away from the telescopes.

* Bring plenty of warm clothes, any binos or telescopes you have.

* BYO BBQ / dinner from 6.35 pm.

* You may prefer to bring sandwiches or something quick to eat, or buy something like pizza or Subway in Beaudesert. A thermos of something hot to drink is a good idea.

* We ask for a $5 per head donation for adults and kids over 12.

Send a message to learn more

13/12/2025

Public Viewing tonight, Sat Dec 13 is Cancelled.

Regretfully, the SRAA has decided to cancel tonight's public viewing (Sat, Dec 13), due to the high lilelihood of cloud. We will try again next Saturday, Dec 20. Stay tuned for a confirming message around 10am Saturday morning. Fingers crossed for clear weather.

Send a message to learn more