Your first night at the telescopes
What happens on a club night, what to wear and why everyone uses red torches (sample).
Planetarium shows and dark-sky nights in Springfield
A 60-seat dome on Hollow Hill and an astronomy club that takes its telescopes out to a dark field every month. Come to a show, then come out to look for yourself (sample).
Next dome show Friday 19:00, Tonight’s sky, live. Next dark-sky night Saturday 7 November (sample).
November 2026 (sample)
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Sun 1, last quarter
Mon 2, last quarter
Tue 3, last quarter
Wed 4, waning crescent
Thu 5, waning crescent, Club talk
Fri 6, waning crescent
Sat 7, waning crescent, Dark-sky night
Sun 8, new moon
Mon 9, new moon
Tue 10, new moon
Wed 11, waxing crescent
Thu 12, waxing crescent
Fri 13, waxing crescent, Dark-sky night
Sat 14, waxing crescent
Sun 15, first quarter
Mon 16, first quarter
Tue 17, first quarter, Moon night
Wed 18, first quarter
Thu 19, waxing gibbous
Fri 20, waxing gibbous
Sat 21, waxing gibbous
Sun 22, full moon
Mon 23, full moon
Tue 24, full moon
Wed 25, full moon
Thu 26, waning gibbous
Fri 27, waning gibbous, Planet night
Sat 28, waning gibbous
Sun 29, waning gibbous
Mon 30, last quarter
Ringed nights are club nights (sample): dark-sky nights on Sat 7 and Fri 13 at Cutler Ridge, the moon night on Tue 17 and a planet night on Fri 27 on the roof terrace, the club talk on Thu 5 in the dome. Dome shows run every Friday to Sunday, cloud or clear.
Under the dome this week
The dome is a 12-metre screen over 60 reclining seats. Every show is presented live: the presenter turns the sky to tonight and takes questions at the end.
19:00
Friday
Tonight’s sky, live
What you can see from your garden this week
45 min
All ages
20:30
Friday
Saturn and its rings
Why the rings look thin this year
40 min
Ages 8+
11:00
Saturday
The Moon up close
Craters, seas and the six landing sites
40 min
Ages 6+
14:00
Saturday
Birth of a star
From a dark cloud to a star like the Sun
35 min
Ages 8+
19:00
Saturday
Tonight’s sky, live
What you can see from your garden this week
45 min
All ages
11:00
Sunday
First stars
A gentle show with stories of the constellations
30 min
Ages 4-7
15:00
Sunday
Saturn and its rings
Why the rings look thin this year
40 min
Ages 8+
Show times (sample). The ringed time is the next show. Doors open 15 minutes before; latecomers wait for a break.
Three kinds of club night, set by the Moon
Moonlight washes out faint galaxies but shows craters at their best, so the Moon decides which night is which. Each kind of night is drawn with the Moon that sets it.
The Moon at new moon
The weekend nights nearest new moon, when the sky is darkest: galaxies, nebulae and the Milky Way through the big telescopes at the field.
Where
Cutler Ridge field, 22 km north
When
From 30 minutes after sunset
Who
Members and their guests
The Moon at first quarter
At first quarter the Moon is up in the evening and the craters stand out along the shadow line. Telescopes on the roof terrace, open to everyone.
Where
Roof terrace of the planetarium
When
19:00-21:30
Who
Everyone, free
The Moon at full moon
Planets are bright enough to see in moonlight and from town, so planet nights can fall on any phase. This season: Saturn, then Jupiter.
Where
Roof terrace of the planetarium
When
When a planet is well up after dark
Who
Everyone, free
If it is cloudy at 17:00 on the day, the night moves to the next date on the calendar (sample). Check the top of this page or call the desk.
What you can see through the telescopes
The objects we point at most on club nights, with the months they are best placed in the evening and how bright they are.
Object
What you see in the club telescopes
Best
Mag.
Saturn
The rings, nearly edge-on this year, and its largest moon, Titan
Sep-Jan
0.7
The Moon
Craters and mountains along the shadow line, best at first quarter
Every month
−9.9
M31, Andromeda Galaxy
A long grey glow: the light left it 2.5 million years ago
Sep-Jan
3.4
M45, the Pleiades
A tight group of blue-white stars, best in binoculars
Oct-Mar
1.6
M42, Orion Nebula
Glowing gas around the four young stars of the Trapezium
Dec-Mar
4.0
Albireo
A double star, one gold and one blue, in the Swan
Jun-Oct
3.1
Jupiter
Cloud belts and four moons that move from night to night
Dec-Apr
−2.5
Magnitude: the smaller the number, the brighter it is. From town the faintest stars you can see are about 4; from Cutler Ridge about 6.5 (sample).
The dark-sky field at Cutler Ridge
A fenced meadow on a ridge north of town, far from street lights, with concrete pads for the club telescopes and a warm hut for coffee between looks.
Distance
About 25 minutes by car from the planetarium
22 km
Sky darkness
Rural sky: the Milky Way casts faint shadows
Bortle 3
Telescopes on site
From a 6-inch refractor to a 16-inch reflector
4
Parking
Park facing away from the field, lights off
15 cars
Field facts (sample).
Join the club
Members use the field, borrow telescopes and get help from people who have been at it for years. Beginners are the reason the club exists.
Adult
A year, all club nights and the monthly talk
$40
Family
Two adults and their children under 16
$65
Student
With a student card
$20
Under 16
With a member adult
Free
Dome show ticket
Members $6, under 16 $6
$9
Example prices.
What members get
- A key code for the Cutler Ridge field
- Telescope loans for a month at a time
- The monthly talk in the dome, first Thursday
- A red torch and a printed sky chart when you join
Your first club night
The questions people ask on the phone before they come out for the first time.
Do I need my own telescope?
No. The club brings its telescopes and a member stays at each one. If you have binoculars, bring them: they show more than most people expect.
What if it is cloudy?
We decide at 17:00 on the day and post it at the top of the website. A cancelled night moves to the next date on the calendar. Dome shows run whatever the weather.
How cold does it get?
Colder than you think, because you stand still for hours. Wear a hat, gloves and one more layer than feels sensible. The hut at the field is heated.
Why only red torches?
Your eyes take about 20 minutes to get used to the dark, and one white light undoes it. Red light does not. We lend red torches at the gate.
Can children come?
Yes, with an adult. Moon nights on the roof terrace are best for children: short waits, a bright target and home by bedtime.
From the sky notes
Geminid meteors: stay up on 13 December
The best meteor shower of the year, with a moonless sky this time (sample).
Why the Milky Way needs a dark field
How light from town hides the faint sky, and what the field at Cutler Ridge shows instead (sample).
Find the planetarium
Hollow Hill Planetarium
40 Observatory Lane, Springfield (sample)
Dome shows
Friday from 19:00, weekends from 11:00
Fri-Sun
Front desk
12:00-21:00, tickets and telescope loans
Wed-Sun
School mornings
Booked classes only, from 09:30
Tue-Thu
Roof terrace
Moon and planet nights, 19:00-21:30
Club nights
Opening times (sample).
- Bus 12 stops at Observatory Lane, three minutes' walk
- Free parking behind the dome after 17:00
- Step-free entrance; four wheelchair spaces in the dome
