Serious numbers drawn to breathtaking views for Pingelly Astrofest 2021

A crowd of more than 500 enthusiastic stargazers packed out the Pingelly Recreation and Cultural Centre last month for a peek into the cosmos. Pingelly Astrofest was held by the Shire of Pingelly in association with UWA’s Institute of Agriculture and used tours, telescopes and more to showcase the night sky’s natural beauty. Astrofest was first held in 2016 at UWA Farm Ridgefield but was recently moved to the PRACC to accommodate its surging popularity. Cosmos consultant at the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research, Gregory Rowbotham, said that Pingelly’s unique stargazing opportunities were the envy of many. “With more than two billion people on the planet no longer able to see the Milky Way in the night sky, those living in regional areas of WA have one of the best views in the house,” Mr Rowbotham said. “In the city there is a lot of light pollution so you only see a handful of planets and stars in the sky but out in Pingelly where it’s a lot darker you’re going to see a lot of amazing things like stars and planets.” Speaking before the event, he said that one of Pingelly Astrofest’s priorities was to guide peoples’ stargazing journey, giving them a greater appreciation of their experience. “People look up at the night sky and quite often have no idea what they are actually looking at, so we will have guides to the night sky using lasers,” Mr Rowbotham said.