Museums Victoria Research Institute is responsible for the state’s scientific and cultural collections, providing public access through three museums.
We also oversee a wide range of research programs, the continued development of the state’s collections, and run major education and research based websites.
We are the largest public museums organisation in Australia.
This month is a great time to catch Jupiter shining brilliantly in the evening sky. And for the next few weeks it will be its best and brightest for the year. The planet reaches opposition at 5:09am on…
A group of excited observers during a peak of the Geminids meteor shower.
Flickr/Tasayu Tasnaphun
Jonti Horner, University of Southern Queensland; Donna Burton, University of Southern Queensland, and Tanya Hill, Museums Victoria Research Institute
Watching meteors in the night sky can be fun, although typically you only see a few flashes an hour. But there are certain times of the year when you can see many more – events known as meteor showers…
Comet Lovejoy on December 13 from the Astronomical Society of Victoria’s Astrophotography Observatory, Heathcote, Victoria.
Phil Hart
If you are away from the bustle of the city these holidays, then try your luck at spotting a faint comet in the northern sky. Comet Lovejoy C/2014 Q2 is the fifth comet to be discovered by Brisbane amateur…
Image captured December 2013 of several Geminids meteors seen from the Observatorio del Teide (IAC) in Tenerife.
Flickr/StarryEarth
Jonti Horner, University of Southern Queensland; Donna Burton, University of Southern Queensland, and Tanya Hill, Museums Victoria Research Institute
The best meteor shower of the year should put on an impressive display this weekend – weather permitting – with the annual Geminids poised to light up the sky with bright, long meteors visible as frequently…
Farewll Philae - the little lander just after separating from Rosetta.
ESA/Rosetta/MPS for OSIRIS Team MPS/UPD/LAM/IAA/SSO/INTA/UPM/DASP/IDA
What a success! Right on track, confirmation was received just after 3am AEDT this morning that Philae had successfully landed on Comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko. It is the first time that a craft has landed…
Rosetta’s selfie with Comet 67P/Churuymov-Gerasimenko.
ESA/Rosetta/Philae/CIVA
The first ever attempt to land on a comet is set to be carried out by the European Space Agency (ESA) this Wednesday evening (AEDT). It is part of an exciting and highly successful space mission, which…
The stars over Tidal River in Wilsons Promontory, Victoria.
Alex Cherney
How many stars can you see at night? Right now people all over the world are being asked to go out and count them! It’s part of a dark-sky awareness campaign that’s been held each October for the past…
Spotswood primary school students build their future city using touch screen technology in Scienceworks’ Think Ahead exhibition.
Museum Victoria
Visits to websites of Australia’s museums now exceed the number of visitors attending exhibitions, events or programs at actual bricks and mortar museums. Across the 62 museums that make up the Council…
Artist’s impression of exocomets around Beta Pictoris.
ESO/L. Calçada
Jonti Horner, University of Southern Queensland and Tanya Hill, Museums Victoria Research Institute
A detailed study of comets orbiting the young nearby star Beta Pictoris is published today in the journal Nature, and it reveals striking similarities to the comets found in our solar system. Over the…
Eclipse at sunrise over Richmond, Virginia, USA in November 2013.
Sky Noir (Bill Dickinson)/Flickr
Each month, at the time of new moon, the sun and moon are together in the daytime sky. Most of the time the moon passes by unnoticed. But at least twice a year, somewhere on Earth will see the moon pass…
Meteors streak outwards from the top of Orion’s head as seen in 2012 from central Victoria.
Phil Hart
Jonti Horner, University of Southern Queensland and Tanya Hill, Museums Victoria Research Institute
As Earth orbits the sun, it continually ploughs through dust and debris left behind by passing comets and asteroids. On any night of the year, a keen-eyed observer might see five, or even ten, meteors…
An artist’s concept of Comet Siding Spring (2013 A1) and Mars.
NASA
Astronomers world-wide are gearing up for what NASA calls a “once in a lifetime” event: the Comet Siding Spring will swing past Mars on its maiden voyage through the solar system in the early hours next…
Just before totality on a total lunar eclipse.
Flickr/John Johnson
At least twice a year, Earth comes between the sun and the moon. The result is a lunar eclipse, where we see the splendid sight of Earth’s shadow falling across the moon. Lunar eclipses are wonderful to…
Look up towards the east on Wednesday night (October 8) and a total lunar eclipse will be visible from across Australia. The moon will slowly move through Earth’s shadow, as the sun, Earth and moon fall…
Looking west after sunset on Friday September 26, the thin waxing crescent moon forms a triangle with Mercury and Spica, the brightest star in the constellation of Virgo. You can see how far Mercury has…
A brittle star feeding off Lizard Island, Queensland.
J Finn/Museum Victoria
A complete tree of life – showing how and when organisms are related to each other – has long been desired by biologists, but obscured by the vagaries of the fossil record. Now, next-generation gene sequencing…
Watching the sun over a nature reserve in ACT, Australia.
Flickr/Andrew
It’s the time of the equinox or more specifically the spring equinox for us in the southern hemisphere. The equinox is a midpoint. It’s around now that day and night become equal in length (but more about…
As another, hopefully sunny, weekend rolls around it’s a great time to get out and spot some planets. Around an hour before sunrise, you can catch Jupiter with the moon. The moon is a thin waning crescent…
During the early hours of this morning (3:42am AEST) our sun released a strong solar flare. It follows right on the heels of a more moderate flare that was released from the same region of the sun on Tuesday…
A small asteroid discovered just five days ago will fly past Earth early on Monday September 8 (AEST) travelling through our south-west sky. Designated 2014 RC, the asteroid will pass by at distance of…