Celestial Events

03/12/2024

THE CORE

A multi pane panorama taken from Shamwari private game showing the milky Ways core and the vast expanse of our galactic arms.

We have bid farewell to the core of the galaxy for now, but it has been replaced by the iconic summer constellations of Orion, Canis Major, Ta**us, and of course, the Magellanic Clouds in the south.

Looking forward to showcasing these in the coming months!

Don't forget, if you'd like to learn more about these constellations, stars and their mythology, contact us to book your own Night Sky Safari 🌌🌌🪐

[email protected]
www.celestialeventssa.com

Sony A7Riii

24/11/2024

Comet C/2023 Tsuchinshan-Atlas is disappearing from our skies as it continues its epic journey back to the far reaches of the solar system. Only another 80,000 years or so until we welcome it back 😱🙈☄️

Photo taken from Blyde Wildlife Estate with

ZWO AM5 harmonic mount
William Optics GT71
ZWO 533MC

19/11/2024

THE EYE OF SAURON 👁️

The Helix Nebula in Aquarius is one of the closest Planetary Nebulae to Earth.

Its ocular features are formed by the atmosphere of a dying star bleeding off into space, leaving behind a White Dwarf, the star's scolded core, at its centre.

This dramatic object is a precursor of the fate that will befall our Sun in a few billion years' time after it has exhausted its fuel supply.

This image, totalling around 7 hours of data, was captured from South Africa over the course of 3 nights.

ZWO 533MC
ZWO AM5 harmonic mount
Optolong L-Extreme filter

16/11/2024

Our latest article on the birth of stars in the Kruger2Canyon News

Each and every night, our planet is bathed in starlight; an eternal vigil held by the countless members of our galactic community. But it is easy to forget that our Sun is just one of many... The Milky Way is thought to contain up to 400 billion stars, yet within the cosmic web of our Universe, ther...

15/11/2024

DREAMSCAPE

An 8 pane mosaic from the dam at Blyde Wildlife Estate showing the setting Milky Way and one of our dwarf galaxies, the Small Magellanic Cloud, on the far left.

Sony A7iiiR

10/11/2024

The Moon and Venus descend towards the tranquil waters of Blyde Wildlife Estate as the Milky Way watches on 🌌🌔

Sony A7Riii

06/11/2024

Another great night exploring the cosmos from the sky deck at 7 Star Oase, just outside Hoedspruit.

Our guests enjoyed stellar views of Saturn, Jupiter, the Orion Nebula, and more through our telescope, and our photographic equipment captured unbelievable detail of nebulae, star clusters and galaxies in realtime! 🌌💫

Contact us to book your own Night Sky Safari 🔭🔭🌠

[email protected]
www.celestialeventssa.com

02/11/2024

I C YOU...

This spectacular area of space goes by the rather uninspiring title of IC4606 and is considered a part of the Rho Ophiuchi complex.

I stumbled across this region by accident whilst waiting for my target object for that night to pass the celestial equator.

This is one of my favourite images for encapsulating the essence and imagination of astrophotography, and the unseen beauty that is waiting to be discovered 😍😍

Despite only 30 mins of data, the image shows an incredible cacophony of colour, with ghostly blues of reflected starlight juxtaposed against the soft pink of ionised hydrogen, all entangled within vast knots of inky-dark nebulae.

William Optics GT71
ZWO AM5
ZWO 533 MC
10 x 180s

30/10/2024

Comet Hunting

Comet Tsuchinshan-Atlas is getting fainter as it continues on its 80,000 year journey around the Sun, and hopefully its higher position in the sky after sunset makes for some better data!

After a spectacular sunset, we set up our amazing William Optics GT71 scope along with ZWOs AM5 and 533MC camera to capture this incredibke sight.

We were also delighted to share the experience with Mark from Kruger2Canyon news for this once in 3000 lifetimes event!

The picture in the reel is a live screenshot of a single 30 second image. Final photo coming soon!

28/10/2024

VISITOR

After weeks of frustrating weather, I finally managed to get a few minutes of data on Comet C/2023 A3 Tshuchinshan-Atlas ☄️☄️🎉

Comets are relics of the creation of our solar system, comprising frozen gas and dust. They originate from the Kuiper Belt and Oort Cloud, way beyond the orbit of Neptune. 🌠

As the comet approaches the Sun it heats up and the frozen gas melts, creating a coma around its nucleus, and leaving a trail in its wake extending millions of kms. 😱😱

The comet survived its passage around the Sun and is now hurtling back out to the far reaches of the solar system and will not return for another 80,000 years. ⏰

This photo is only around 8mins of data from Oct 24th, and was captured whilst very low on the horizon in the constellation of Ophiuchus. Whilst not an award winner, I am so grateful to have been able to image this once in a lifetime event, (actually once in 3000 lifetimes!) before it disappears!

William Optics GT71
ZWO AM5 & ZWO533MC

#

19/10/2024

Beautiful clear skies above the outskirts of Hoedspruit allowed for magnificent views of a variety of celestial delights.

Our Meade telescope gave us incredible views of the gibbous moon, the glittering globular cluster 47 Tucana and the iconic rings of Saturn. Our photographic equipment then provided unbelievable live views of star forming nebulae and the Sculptor galaxy.

Contact us for your very own Night Sky Safari and witness the Universe like never before 🌠😱🔭

13/10/2024

Some photos from our recent Night Sky Safari at as we explored the heavens with a laser pointer and our fleet of telescopes 🔭🌠✨🌔🪐

08/10/2024

WHAT'S MY NAME..?

This beautiful star forming region can be found close to the stinger in the tail of Scorpio. 🦂🌠

It is named after a marine creature on account of its shape - can you guess what it's called?? 🤷🤷🕵️

Like many emission nebulae, it is invisible to the naked eye, or even through a telescope, but with the correct equipment and filters, the dense cloud of hydrogen glows like fire.🔭🔭

This image was taken at Laluka Safari Lodge in Welgevonden game reserve and combines around 6 hours of data, as well as darks, flats and bias frames.

William Optics GT71
ZWO AM5 mount
ZWO533MC camera
Optolong L-Extreme filter
Powered by a Jackery powertank

01/10/2024

After 2 weeks of intensive astronomy training with the team from and it's time to say goodbye to Dubai, and return to SA shores.

We had a wonderful time venturing deep into the cosmos, with lectures ranging from cultural astronomy, stellar evolution, the moon, and much more. Not to mention the many practical nights spent under the Arabian desert skies.

We discovered ancient Arabic constellation, stories and star names, and learned how the Bedouins navigated and predicted weather through the passage of the stars.

The team did brilliantly and we are super proud of how much knowledge they absorbed, and cannot wait to hear about their future guest evenings! 🔭🔭

Thanks so much to all for your time, effort and dedication and we hope to return to conduct more training soon 😊🌠

29/09/2024

Another great night in the Dubai desert doing practical astronomy training with the amazing guides from

Using their Celestron CPC1100 telescope we explored the surface of the Moon, the rings of Saturn and cosmic deep sky gems such as the Wild Duck Cluster, the Ring Nebula and the Andromeda Galaxy 🔭🪐🌔💫

For more information on our night sky guide training, please check out our website at www.celestialeventssa.com

25/09/2024

Some snaps from our astronomy guide training with the team from and in Dubai.

We have covered all aspects of astronomy, from star formation to black holes, and delved into the rich cultural history of the Bedouin people, how they navigated at night through the vast Arabian desert, and their ancient constellations 🏜️

5 intrepid explorers have been immersed in the beauty of the northern hemisphere night sky, learning to identify constellations and viewing incredible deep sky objects through their 11" Celestron telescope. 🔭🌠🪐

It has been a wonderful experience, and we sincerely hope the guiding team, and their guests will reap the benefits of their newfound knowledge!

22/09/2024

Exploring the Arabian desert whilst out in Dubai conducting astronomy training for the guides at and

Thank you for the unbelievable hospitality and the opportunity to explore the incredible Bedouin culture of this area!

We have witnessed falconry displays, tours of the desert in vintage land rovers and sampled the local cuisine.

Photos of the training to come soon!