Know what to look out for in the night sky! These short articles by MPAS appear every month in the Mornington Peninsula Magazine.
LatestMeteor shower among November’s astronomical highlights1 November 2026There is a lot to see in the southern skies this month with just the naked eye or basic equipment. Start off by looking for the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) west of the constellation…Read this month’s highlights →
1 July 2026July: Sights of Sagittarius might be your cup of teaThis single 30-second image of the Milky Way was taken at ISO1600 with a smartphone leaning against a drink bottle under beautiful…
1 June 2026Open your eyes to stunning open clusters in JuneThis image of the aurora and star trails was taken at Tooradin with a smartphone mounted on a tripod facing south. There…
8 May 2026May: Familiar faceThe moon is our only natural satellite, orbiting Earth at an average distance of 384,399km. The two bodies are bound by gravitational…
3 April 2026April: Darkness prevailsThe Coalsack is a dark nebula visible to the unaided eye as a black patch obscuring part of the Milky Way about…
1 March 2026March: A shell of its former selfRCW 58 is a faint emission nebula in the constellation Carina, formed from material shed by the massive Wolf-Rayet star WR 40…
1 January 2026January: A long way from ConeThe Cone Nebula, named because of its apparent shape, lies in the southern part of NGC 2264, the northern part being the…
1 November 2025November: Graceful visitorComet C/2025 R2 (SWAN), formerly known as SWAN25B, is a long-period comet discovered on September 11, 2025, in the constellation Virgo. It…
1 October 2025October: Prawn in a sea of starsThe Prawn Nebula, also known as IC 4628, is an emission nebula in the Sagittarius Arm of the Milky Way. It stretches…
1 September 2025September: Shadow on the moonThe moon is Earth’s only natural satellite, orbiting our planet at an average distance of 384,399km – about 30 times Earth’s diameter.…
1 August 2025August: A cracking shotThe Dragon’s Egg Nebula, NGC 6164, is in the constellation Norma about 3870 light-years from Earth. Its shape gives it the appearance…
1 July 2025July: Chicken out for a runIC 2944, also known as the Running Chicken Nebula, is an open cluster with an associated emission nebula found in the constellation…
1 June 2025June: Here be dragonsNGC 6188, or The Fighting Dragons of Ara, is an emission nebula about 4000 light-years away in the constellation Ara. In this…
7 May 2025May: Artistic LibertyThe Statue of Liberty Nebula, NGC 3576, is a large, bright emission nebula about 9800 light-years away in the constellation Carina. To…
6 April 2025April: Impressive, by GumThe Southern Tadpole Nebula – Gum 37, named after Australian astronomer Colin Gum – is associated with the star cluster NGC 3572. …
28 February 2025March: Nebula draws awayOfficially known as NGC 2736, the Pencil Nebula is part of the huge Vela supernova remnant in the southern constellation Vela, about…
1 February 2025February: Super SightsThe Vela Supernova Remnant is a massive object mostly made up of hydrogen alpha and oxygen III in the constellation Vela. It…
1 January 2025January: Dive into the deep skyThe Dolphin Head Nebula is near the centre of the constellation Canis Major about 8 degrees south of Sirius, the brightest star…