Astronomers today are exploring the Universe on a grand scale. But knowing what's out there is just the first step.
Putting the pieces together to unlock the mysteries of the Universe is the ultimate goal. Narrated by Academy Award winning actor Geoffrey Rush, you can discover the new astronomy being carried out under the breathtaking skies of the Australian outback. What new things shall we learn about the Cosmos?
Capturing the Cosmos was produced by Melbourne Planetarium in partnership with the ARC Centre of Excellence for All-Sky Astrophysics (CAASTRO), a consortium of seven universities across Australia. This show explores the current research being carried out by CAASTRO astronomers as they search the sky in ways never before possible. New and innovative telescopes, such as SkyMapper in New South Wales and the Murchison Widefield Array in Western Australia, have been designed to survey large sections of the sky.
The SkyMapper telescope led by Nobel Laureate and CAASTRO astronomer, Professor Brian Schmidt, is helping to solve the mystery of Dark Energy.
The Murchison Widefield Array is a radio telescope that is investigating the moment when the first stars and galaxies lit up the Universe. They are finding things we’ve never seen before, and will help us to better understand our Universe.
Each Planetarium show is followed by a live tour of the current night sky.
The health and wellbeing of our visitors, employees and volunteers is our priority.
While face masks are no longer required, we do encourage mask wearing as extra protection in areas such as the Launceston Planetarium where visitors are unable to physically distance.
Feel free to bring your own mask. If you forget, don't worry, we've got you covered – simply ask our friendly team at the Information Desk.
• The Planetarium is closed Mondays and public holidays (with the exception of Mondays that fall within school holidays)
• A family ticket offers admission for two adults and two children, or one adult and three children. If more than a family of four are seeking entry under a family ticket, another adult/child ticket will need to be purchased
Conditions of entry:
You must arrive 15 minutes before the show's start time.
• Check in at the Information Desk to collect tickets before heading around to the Planetarium foyer
• Uncollected Eventbrite tickets will be forfeited if arrival is less than 15 minutes before hand
• While face masks are no longer required, we do encourage mask wearing as extra protection in areas such as the Launceston Planetarium where visitors are unable to physically distance
• Please note that refunds are not available for Planetarium bookings