As part of our growing activities, we are establishing some new observing groups for club members…

Astrophotography

At the moment, we are a small group of people with mixed experience levels and equipment. Our members shoot a range of images, from star-trails to long-exposure deep, sky images. If you would like to try for yourself, all you need to get started is a sturdy tripod, a camera that allows manual exposures (preferably a DSLR of some type), a shutter release and some patience. It is amazing what images can be created with some guidance & experimentation. For more information, email Graham Palmer at grahampp1972@gmail.com

Viewing Evenings

Currently, our Pukerangi observatory project is undergoing site review. Once the situation is resolved, a number of telescopes will allow us to observe a wide range of objects, from the moon & planets, to some very distant deep-sky objects such as nebulae and galaxies. In the meantime, we will use portable telescopes at various locations around the Napier area. Binocular viewing is very popular as a group and is a great introduction to astronomical observing. This is a low stress way to learn the night sky and the addition of blankets and beach-chairs also make it a very comfortable form of astronomy. For more information, contact Bruce at director@holtplanetarium.org.nz