Welcome to the website of the Tropical Stargazers, the outreach program of the Great Barrier Reef Observatory, located in the Whitsunday region of tropical North Queensland, Australia.

The Tropical Stargazers hold regular viewing nights, usually at Kinchant Dam, which is located approximately 30km west of Mackay in Queensland. Everyone is welcome to attend, and we can also arrange viewing nights in the Whitsundays if there is enough interest. Check our viewing night schedule to find out when and where to come.

Astronomy is a wonderful pastime, and there is no need to have expensive equipment to enjoy the night sky when you are first starting out. Chances are if you're here on this web page, you've already had a sneak preview with your own eyeballs! Even a pair of binoculars are pretty handy for viewing the night sky. Start now by using our Sky Chart, brought to you courtesy Sky & Telescope. Just click on The Sky Tonight for an interactive chart of the sky for the Mackay and Whitsunday area for tonight. If you're not in the Mackay or Whitsunday area, click anyway and you'll be able to change your location after the window opens. Just click on the 'Change' button on the location and date/time panels.

Before you jump in and buy a telescope, you might like to come to one of our viewing nights and get a feel for astronomy. Our club members have more experience between them than they care to remember, and can give useful (and money saving) advice on which telescope will be right for you. And of course there will be a telescope or two for you to have a look through! If you want to jump right in, there is an excellent article about buying your first telescope on this web page Buying your first telescope in Australia, and our Astronomy Links page contains links to a wealth of information about astronomy.

Many of the Tropical Stargazers are interested in another fascinating aspect of astronomy - astrophotography. Again, you don't need to go over the top to take part, if you have a camera - film, digital or even a webcam, you can start right away, even if you don't have a telescope! Many of our members can give you advice on how to start in astrophography - come to one of our viewing nites and have a chat with us, and in the meantime check out our astro images section. And whatever you do, don't forget to listen to Ray on the Radio too, our very own answer to Sir Patrick Moore!