Western Australia's oldest observatory is located 25 km east of Perth in Bickley. The Observatory has served WA for more than 120 years and remains actively involved in the service of public education. In recognition of its scientific, cultural and historical significance, the Observatory was entered on the state's Heritage Register in 2005.
Experience our amazing night sky through our wide range of telescopes at our night sky tours. Our Volunteers will take you on a grand tour of the Southern Hemisphere?s sky with a wide range of targets including Nebula, planets, dying stars, and enormous star clusters.
To save you the stress of driving, you can take the relaxing charter bus to the Observatory and save the cost of fuel. the bus runs every second and fourth Friday of the month with pick up and drop off locations being Perth Bell Tower and Crown Casino. You can book the bus on the website and there are discounts for 3 or more people.
Our school day tours have been designed for school excursions and relate to the Australian National Curriculum. The students will participate in activities around the Observatory?s grounds to broaden their knowledge of astronomy and physics while seeing our range of modern and historical telescopes. Each activity takes 30 minutes, 25 minutes for the activity and a five minute changeover time.
You will also be able to browse our museum and see historical instruments, our meteorite exhibit, astrophotographs & artwork, and admire the beauty of the Atlas Coelestis, the first Star Atlas ever printed in 1729 from the work of John Flamsteed, the First Astronomer Royal at the Greenwich Observatory in Great Britain.
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