Image: David Malin/Julie Ramsden

Thank you to everyone who joined the Big Aussie Star Hunt between 15 – 30 August 2009. The survey and competition is now closed!

We asked you to spot Scorpius and match what you see in the sky with one of our magnitude charts to tell us how much light pollution is in your local area.

Despite some very average winter weather, we had a great response to the survey and competition. To see how your area rated check out our results map. We will publish the full results and competition winners on 10 September, 2009.

The individual winner will get $2000 of ABC Shop goodies  – that's a DVD, CD or book every week of the year! And our school team winner will get $1000 worth of ABC Shop products for their school.

Even though the survey is now closed you can still learn about Scorpius and the the other sky features in our virtual tour and go outside for a night of stargazing.

Print the Star Hunt pack

Download all the sky maps and magnitude charts you’ll need to find Scorpius and rate light pollution levels in your local area.. You'll need Acrobat Reader 9 to download and view the pack. 

Optional: Listen to the Audio Tour Let astronomer Fred Watson take you on a journey across the night sky. Learn fascinating facts about Scorpius and our other sky features. You will need a portable mp3 player and some headphones or speakers. MP3 Audio Tour 9.5MB

 

Choose a night in National Science Week

You can take the tour on any night between 15 – 30 August.  Jupiter will be at its biggest on 15 August and the sky will be dark in the first week because the moon doesn't rise until much later in the evening. The first quarter moon rises on 27 August and will affect your viewing in the second week.

Cloudy skies make lousy stargazing so check the Bureau of Meteorology  website for local weather conditions in your area.

Please note: some parts of Australia have had very bad weather in National Science Week so the Big Aussie Star Hunt has been extended until 30 August to give everyone a good chance of seeing their night sky. 

 

 

On the night

  • View the sky between 7 – 8 pm when the conditions are at their best.
  • Fill out your location details and night viewing conditions on the observation sheet in your sky hunt pack.
  • Use the sky maps and optional audio tour to find Scorpius.
  • Once you’ve found Scorpius, note which magnitude map in your sky hunt pack matches what you can see in the sky.
  • You can fill the survey out as many times as you like from as many locations as you like  – all you need to do is use a separate observation sheet for each viewing.
 

Record your observations

  • Enter your details on our website before midday 31 August 2009.
  • Find your exact location on our interactive map.
  • Enter your viewing information (sky conditions and magnitude maps)
  • Compare how your area rates on our real-time results map.
 

Enter the competition

Hunt for Scorpius on any night between 15 - 30 August, enter your information, then tell us in 25 words or less which constellation you would like to rename, what would you call it and why.

Please note: some places in Australia have had bad weather during National Science Week so the survey and competition has been extended until midday 31 August 2009.

You’ll find more information on our competition page.