Outreach Report

Published in the RSAA Lunations
Vol1 Issue68 1–30 November 2025

November usually means the last busy month of the year for outreach.  As the school year starts to wrap-up so do the bulk of the visits.  We had 21 school/educational groups with about 700 students visit us in November.  

We will still have a few school groups in December, and then we enter the quiet period until the school year ramps up again in February.

Luckily for us, the somewhat dry November has meant that we got in a lot of private nights and special events.  This included running stargazing for the Norwegian Embassy and hosting ACT Scouts for one of their Canberra-wide activies.

We also ran our first event with the Canberra Blind Society.  Science Communication Masters student, Clinton Li, created 3D print version of common astronomical objects - 47 Tuc, Omega Cen, Orion's Nebula, Alpha Centauri and more.  By 3D printing the objects and stars intensity, it allowed members of the Blind and Vision Impaired Community to enjoy an outreach night.  Thanks to the number of outreachers who helped with this very unique event - and one we hope to run more often!

In December, in addition to some school groups, we will host students visiting ANU as part of the National Indigenous Summer School, as well as a few conference and corporate events. 

Finally, if you missed it, clear weather meant we had a great view of the Aurora Australis on 12 November. Visible even to the naked eye, the school group and private groups up here on the night had a very memorable night!

Brad Tucker

Image:  The aurora as seen from Mt Stromlo on 12 November taken from one of our sky cameras located in the Reynolds dome.