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Night Sky

Situated as we are in a fairly dark part of the world, New Zealand is known as a Mecca for people who want to experience the wonders of the night sky. At Pen-y-bryn we have no fewer than three telescopes to give our guests a chance to get up close and personal with the wonder of the heavens above. Here are some of the things you can expect to see:

• The craters of the moon
• The rings of Saturn
• The moons of Jupiter
• The phases of Venus
• The Southern Cross
• Some of the night sky’s most brilliant star clusters
• Distant galaxies
• The Milky Way
• Aurora Australis (depending on solar activity–the sun is approaching “solar maximum” in 2025, so activity is increasing)

These are viewed with a combination of our naked eye, binoculars, and our 10″ Dobsonian telescope. Photographs of these subjects can also be captured for you to take home and share with friends and family.