Introduction to Astronomy March 2026
2026-03-02 20:00 - 21:00 (Pacific/Auckland) | Stardome Observatory, 670 Manukau Rd, Epsom, Auckland, 1345, New Zealand
Gamma Ray Bursts
by guest speaker Dr Nick Odom
Gamma ray bursts were discovered serendipitously in the 1960s. They remained a mystery for many years. Since 1997, satellite technology has enabled their nature to be better understood, thereby providing insight into the most distant and energetic explosions in the universe. Come along and learn about these fascinating events and what they tell us about the Universe.
This meeting will also be live-streamed on the AAS YouTube channel
See you all there!

Monthly Meeting March 2026 - How can AI help us find exploding stars and Hungry Black Holes?
2026-03-09 20:00 - 21:00 | Stardome Observatory & Planetarium, 670 Manukau Road, Epsom, Auckland, 1345
Dr Heloise Stevance
Modern sky surveys can image the entire sky every night. In doing so, they discover new cosmic explosions – from stars collapsing to stars being devoured by black holes. But the sky is vast and the alerts are many – far too many for humans to keep up with. When the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) begins in 2026, millions of nightly discoveries will flood astronomers. Partnering with experts in sky surveys and applied machine learning, I am developing a Virtual Research Assistant that harnesses A.I. to help experts find the cosmic explosions that made the space dust we come from.
Dr Stevance is a Schmidt AI in Science Fellow at the University of Oxford working with international sky surveys (ATLAS, Vera Rubin) to find extragalactic transients (supernovae, tidal disruption events). She works at the interface between Astronomy and AI, developing “Virtual Research Assistants” to help astronomers find the needles in the cosmic hay stacks. She is an award winning science communicator and early career astrophysicist (Beatrice Tinsley Lecture Prize 2021, Caroline Hearschel Prize 2024), and her talk will be an updated version of her Caroline Herschel Prize Lecture.

Practical Astronomy March - The Autumn Night Sky
2026-03-16 20:00 - 21:00 | Stardome Observatory & Planetarium, 670 Manukau Road, Epsom, Auckland, 1345
This will be one of our seasonal Planetarium sessions. We will use the Planetarium to explore the Autumn Night Sky. This is a great way to improve your knowledge of the Autumn constellations and learn about some of the deep sky objects to be found in them.

Northern Star Party – April 17th to April 19th 2026
2026-04-17 16:30 - 2026-04-19 11:00
Dark Sky Weekend
We are excited to announce the dates for the Northern Star Party for 2026 to held at Waharau Regional Park and hosted by the Auckland Astronomical Society. We are holding the event over the nights of Friday 18th and Saturday 18th of April. Packing up on the morning of Sunday the 19th.
It will be a weekend of practical astronomy and dark sky observing. It is great opportunity to spend a weekend viewing the sky from a dark site, on Moonless nights, though a range of different telescopes. Bring your telescope or binoculars, but if you don’t have any there will be plenty there for you to look through. Also the society has telescopes available for hire though the hire will have to be set up prior to the camp. Refer to the club for further details.

During the day on Saturday, there will be a full program of practical astronomy – how to use equipment and various types of telescopes, new equipment demonstrations and an astrophotography workshop.
Films will be shown in the early evening on Friday and if appropriate on Saturday.

Prices
Members
Non-members

Early Bird paid by 1st October
$30
$40

Late bookings
$50
$60

No one night price.
To book, please log into Hello Club……….Click here for link.
From the Hello Club page, you will need to log in.
Program:
Friday: Viewing, movie (TBC)
Saturday:
Workshops: Midday to 4:30 pm.
Solar Viewing during the day on Saturday.

Time
Activity
Details

13:00 – 14:00
TBC
TBC

14:30 – 15:00
Practical Astronomy
TBC

16:30 – 18:00
Telescope trail
Telescope trail

For the full information pack, click here.
