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Whakatane Observatory
boy! have we got a universe
to show you
explore the Moon check out the planets in our 
solar system
School Groups are welcome want to learn how to use
a telescope?
become a member and meet
the visitors to our area

Public Viewings

The satisfaction our society gets is in seeing others enjoying the exploration of our great universe.

open Tuesday and Friday nights.

Astronomical Information

The Crab Nebula is just one of many millions of interesting items in our night sky. We have a great select of information and links to start your own exploration of our Universe

Lets Chat

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Tonight at Whakatāne Observatory

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Moon

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Planets visible tonight

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Good telescope & binocular targets

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This is a selected list of prominent objects, not every object visible in the night sky.

Local Sidereal Time

Location: Whakatāne Observatory
Longitude: 176.98° E
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Right Ascension currently on the meridian:
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Where Your Elements Came From

September 14, 2026

The hydrogen in your body and present in every molecule of water came from the Big Bang. There are no other appreciable sources of hydrogen in the universe. The carbon in your body was made by nuclear fusion in the interior of stars, as was the oxygen. Much of the iron in your body was made during supernovas of stars that occurred long ago and far away. The gold in your jewelry was likely made from neutron stars during collisions that may have been visible as short-duration gamma-ray bursts or gravitational wave events. Elements like phosphorus and copper are present in our bodies in only small amounts but are essential to the functioning of all known life. The featured periodic table is color coded to indicate humanity's best guess as to the nuclear origin of all known elements. The sites of nuclear creation of some elements, such as copper, are not really well known and are continuing topics of observational and computational research. APOD's main NASA site is moving: From apod.nasa.gov to science.nasa.gov/apod