The state-of-the-art ELTHAM College Observatory, located at our Research Campus, is an exceptional enhancement to our science curriculum, sparking the imagination and generating interest in astronomy amongst our young people and broader community.
Have you ever looked up at the night sky and wondered what secrets it holds?
At ELTHAM College, astronomy is integrated into the science curriculum throughout Years 5 – 10. For our Junior School students, the Observatory offers an early opportunity to participate in the Senior School and be mentored by older students.
Through our Co-Curricular Program, In Cosmos Club students make use of ELTHAM College’s astronomical observatory and also gain access to a suite of scientific telescopes worldwide. You can take your own images of planets, moons, stars, galaxies, nebulae and other celestial objects. As well as creating beautiful images, you can become involved in real science such as searching for exoplanets and analysing variable stars. Guidance will be provided but you are also free to follow your own passions and interest. At Cosmos Club, not even the sky is the limit.
We welcome students and their families to the observatory at our popular Astronomy Nights - follow us on Facebook and Instagram for dates.
The College opened its Observatory in the early 1980s, with teaching staff regularly conducting 'star nights' at the school. Unfortunately, the Observatory was significantly damaged in the 2011 December storms. Following a community fundraising effort, the redeveloped Observatory opened in 2019. From Chemistry to Physics, Mathematics to Poetry, the learning experiences are both rich and varied.
Since re-launching our Observatory in May 2019, some of our student achievements include:
- In 2021, Year 12 students Darcy Wenn, Oscar Geerts and Derrick Liu discovered the Jupiter-sized exoplanet TOI-2341.01. With the help of local astronomers (Michael Fitzgerald, Saeed Salimpour and Andrew Yen) the students wrote an academic paper, detailing their discovery and properties of the planet, and were published in the Journal of the American Association of Variable Star Observers (JAAVSO) for their work.
- In 2021, The Astronomical Society of Australia approved our Observatory to be considered a “designated optical observatory”. This is a significant national recognition, ELTHAM College is one of three schools on the list.
- Michael Fitzgerald, an Eltham-based astronomer and educator, hosted the Robotic Telescopes Student Research and Education Conference (RTSRE) in June 2022 in Santa Barbara, California, with students Darcy Wenn, Oscar Geerts and Derrick Liu attending to present their work on TOI-2341.01 to experts in the field of astronomy from all over the world.
- Student Tristan Wood presented his variable stars discovery at the same conference in 2025, hosted by the University of Tasmania.
Student Discovers Variable Stars
What's it like working with a state-of-the-art observatory at school? Hear one student's perspective.
Read moreFeature Image: Past student Orlando Yen captured this striking image of three distinct nebulae: the Flame Nebula in the centre of the image, NGC 2023 directly below, and the Horsehead Nebula towards the bottom-left of the image.