Rami Mandow

As the cool winter temperatures start to settle in around us here in Sydney, the southern night sky gears up for a dazzling show that is the envy of all northern hemisphere skywatchers and observers. We get the special treat to enjoy the wonders of our home galaxy, the Milky Way.  That’s because during the southern hemisphere winter months, the centre of our galaxy is high in the sky, with the extended arms and disc of the magnificent structure stretching from horizon to horizon. This gives us a beautiful view of many star clusters, nebulae, bright stars of many different colours, and the marvellous dust lanes that remind us that we are looking inwards towards the centre of our home galaxy, from the outer suburbs.  July also features a chance to catch the gas giant planets (Jupiter and Saturn) in our solar system as well as some of the inner planets – like Mercury high in the sky early in the month, or Venus catching up to Mars around July 15. When we look at the night sky with our eyes, we are catching waves of light (or electromagnetic radiation) in what is known as the ‘optical bands’. Simply put, these are the visible colours of the rainbow that your eyes have evolved to tune into.  But the electromagnetic spectrum stretches well beyond the optical bands and into other frequencies. When we go higher than optical, we reach the ultraviolet bands – the same ones that cause many of our skins to tan – then x-rays and gamma-rays. Thankfully for us – and all life on Earth – our