Stargazing at Maropeng

"One small step for man ... one giant leap for mankind."

The Maropeng Hotel on the grounds of the visitor center for the Cradle of Humanankind offers a monthly after-dark program of stargazing evenings. These monthly ‘astro-dinner dates’ take place on Saturday evenings usually when the best telescope viewing conditions prevail, i.e. closest to the new moon.  They are presented by Maropeng’s resident astronomer, Vincent Nettmann. The Winter Sky, The Summer Sky and the one we attended on Saturday night which focused on the Moon and the Apollo 11 Lunar Landing. This special program is held every year to coincide with the anniversary of the historic event which took place on July 21, 1969 rather than the moon phase. The moon was practically full and the sky was crystal clear.

The evening began with sundowners (of course) at the Maropeng Hotel with its impressive views of the setting sun over the valley of the Cradle of Humankind.  A three-course dinner followed before coffee and the stargazing talk. Nettmann’s talks are a kind of "edutainment" that mix fact with stories.  He’s strong on traditional African lore associated with the southern stars. And since the night was all about Apollo 11, we were also treated to a short film featuring actual historical footage taken at ground control in Houston, in space and on the moon. It really still gives you chills when the rocket successfully takes off and lands and Neil and Buzz walk on the moon. God bless America!



After the indoor activities, Vincent Nettmann brought us outside where he had set up three high-powered large aperture telescopes. We were able to observe some sky objects including the moon of course in one of the telescopes. We saw Saturn in another with its rings clearly visible. In the last scope, he had located a beautiful multi-colored southern sky constellation cluster called the Jewel Box. Alongside the telescopes, Vince was able to get some pretty good pictures of the Southern Cross and the moon with his camera using a tripod too.

can you see the American flag?

According to the passionate Nettman, the south’s astronomical wealth is far richer than the north’s.  He explains: “In the southern hemisphere there are two thirds more stars than in the northern hemisphere – it’s just the way nature is. Then if you look at light pollution in the big cities in Europe and America, there’s so much of it compared to down here. So when those people arrive here, we might appreciate the stars here, but they are mind-blown when they see it.” I have to agree being one of "those people". It was mind-blowing!

The Southern Cross

Nettman is also a resident astronomer at Wits University and a member of the Astronomy Society of South Africa and he gave us a great local tip. On the second Wednesday of every month, the Society meets at the 26.5 inch Innes refractor telescope located at the Joburg Planetarium. Afterwards they let the public view the sky through it. We will definitely check it out. It should be even more mild-blowing.