Australia’s largest annual astronomy festival has come and gone for another year. Astrofest, a vibrant celebration of astronomy and Western Australian science, was held at Curtin Stadium on the Curtin University campus in Bentley on Saturday 28th March.
Curtin University Vice Chancellor Professor Deborah Terry gives a welcome at Astrofest 2015.
The Unversity of Western Australia Vice Chancellor Professor Paul Johnson presents a prize to a lucky winner. (Images credit Astronomy WA Astrofest 2015
The free event attracted more than 4,500 people this year and featured fun and engaging activities for people from all walks of life. Optical and radio telescopes, including some of the largest in the state, were available throughout the evening to give festival-goers a fascinating look at some of the wonders of the Universe. A huge range of other interactive activities were also on offer, including:
- Guided ‘tours’ of the night sky
- Astrophotography competition and displays
- Scitech science shows
- Guest speakers, including an SKA update from ICRAR’s Professor Peter Quinn
- Hands-on activities for people of all ages
There was also plenty of information on offer about the Square Kilometre Array – the world’s largest radio telescope currently preparing for construction in Western Australia’s Murchison region.
For more images and information about Astrofest 2015, see the official event page at Astronomy WA. The date for Astrofest 2016 will be announced sometime in May.
Astrofest 2015 was proudly supported by The Astronomical Group of Western Australia, Astronomy Education Services, Camera Electronic, CSIRO, Curtin University, The International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR), Lotterywest, Perth Observatory, Scitech, Shoot Photography Workshops, Stargazers Club WA, The University of Western Australia and WPM Group.
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- ‘The Universe’, featuring five years of astrophotography from Astrofest exhibitions was launched at Astrofest 2015. (Images credit Astronomy WA Astrofest 2015).
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- SKA precursor the Murchison Widefield Array had antennas on display at Astrofest.
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- Star Wars characters investigate radio and optical astronomy before the sun sets at Astrofest 2015. (Images credit Astronomy WA Astrofest 2015).
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- Star Wars characters investigate radio and optical astronomy before the sun sets at Astrofest 2015. (Images credit Astronomy WA Astrofest 2015).
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- A Lego model of the Square Kilometre Array’s three antenna designs.
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- If only SKA antennas could be constructed using the Force! (Images credit Astronomy WA Astrofest 2015).
