Astronomy Factsheets

Factsheets produced by the Education and Public Outreach Chapter of the Astronomical Society of Australia. These information sheets cover a number of topics of interest to the general public, such solar and lunar eclipses, comets and general astronomy information with an Australian flavour. Read on to find out more.

No. 27. Total lunar eclipse, 8 October 2014
A total eclipse of the Moon takes place on the evening of Wednesday 8 October visible throughout Australia and New Zealand.

No. 26. Partial solar eclipse, 29 April 2014
On the afternoon of Tuesday 29 April 2014, there will be a partial eclipse of the sun visible throughout Australia.

No. 25: Annular solar eclipse, 10 May 2013
On the morning of Friday 10 May 2013, there will be an annular solar eclipse visible in parts of northern Australia.

No. 24: Transit of Venus, 6 June 2012
On the morning of Wednesday 6 June 2012, there was a transit of Venus seen from most parts of Australia and New Zealand.

No. 23: Solar eclipse, 14 November 2012
There was a solar eclipse on Wednesday 14 November 2012, seen as a total eclipse of the Sun in some northern parts of Australia and visible as a partial eclipse in the rest of the country.

No. 22: Laser pointers
This factsheet discusses the new government legislation regarding the personal use of laser pointers.

No. 21: Total Lunar Eclipse, 28 August 2007
There was a total eclipse of the Moon on Tuesday 28 August 2007.

No. 20: Transit of Mercury
The planet Mercury transited the disc of the Sun on Thursday 9 November 2006.

No. 19: Opposition of Mars, November 2005
At the opposition of Mars in November 2005, the planet was its closest until 2018.

No. 18: Planetary huddle, June 2005
Three bright planets were visible in the western sky in late June 2005.

No. 17: Comet Watching
In 2004 there were two visible comets – Comet C/2001 Q4 NEAT and C/2002 T7 LINEAR. For information about comets,

No. 16: Total Lunar Eclipse, 5 May 2004

No. 15: Transit of Venus, 8 June 2004
On the afternoon of Tuesday 8 June, there was a transit of Venus.

No. 14: Solar Eclipse, 24 November 2003

No. 13: Opposition of Mars, August 2003

No. 12: Transit of Mercury, 7 May 2003
The planet Mercury appeared to pass in front of the disc of the Sun on the afternoon of Wednesday 7 May 2003. Australians were able to see this rare event from 3.14pm Eastern Standard Time until local sunset.

No. 11: Total Solar Eclipse, December 4, 2002

No.10: Purchasing Star Names
Read this before you pay! In recent years, private (and legally constituted) companies have been offering to name stars for a price. The Astronomical Society of Australia in no way condones this practice.

No. 9: Partial Lunar Eclipse, July 5-6, 2001

No. 8: Total Lunar Eclipse, July 16-17, 2000

No.7: The Alignment of the Planets
Many people will have heard about alignments of the planets. As seems to be usual with such things (yes, they do happen quite often), there are some who make dire predictions about the consequences of such a cosmic display. Is there any basis to these predictions of doom?

No.6: The Leonid Meteor Shower
Over the past few years, there were significant prospects for strong displays of Leonid meteors in mid-November.

No. 5: The Millennium

No. 4: The Transit of Mercury, 16 Nov, 1999

No. 3: Partial Lunar Eclipse, 28 July, 1999

No. 2: Annular Solar Eclipse, 16 Feb, 1999

No. 1: Comet Hale-Bopp, 1997