Go stargazing in Gauteng with Maropeng

Space and astronomy tourism in South Africa is taking off at the speed of lightening and Gautengers can now enjoy a fantastic tourism experience of the astronomical kind with Maropeng this Saturday, February 12, with the first of 2011’s stargazing events.

Our country has experienced an increase in tourism during the global economic recession, and one of the significant growth areas for the local tourism market is space and astronomy tourism. This is according to the World Travel Market (WTM) Global Trends Report for 2010.

The report also states that “50% of the world’s population can no longer see the stars, so few places remain in the world where people can enjoy the skies pollution-free”.

Gautengers don’t need to travel far to view the stars as Maropeng, the visitor centre for the Cradle of Humankind, is only an hour from Johannesburg and Pretoria. It is offering visitors a night of stargazing with well-known astronomer Vincent Nettman, who is a pioneer in the astronomy tourism industry and has been sharing the secrets behind the stars for the past eight years.

Nettmann says that even though it has taken a while for tourism groups to catch onto the concept of stargazing as an innovative evening experience, there has been a major growth in astronomy tourism. “This is because people are tired of staying at home and are looking for something more interesting to do in the evening. Stargazing is something different which can add value to an existing tourism destination.”

For only R190 per adult or R90 per child (four to 14 years old), visitors can spend the evening on the Tumulus Restaurant deck at Maropeng, enjoying a fascinating presentation by Nettmann, as well as a delicious buffet dinner.
The presentation involves a 45-minute illustrated talk accompanied by beautiful photographs taken from the Hubble Space Telescope, which illustrates various summer sky objects. After dinner, visitors can view these objects in reality through large-range aperture telescopes.

This first presentation for the year begins with an introduction of the best “beginner” area of the sky, the Great Orion Nebula that is a vast cloud of dust and gas. It is also considered a stellar nursery, where four hot young stars were formed recently. According to Nettman, visitors will “learn some fascinating facts about the lifecycles of the stars and take a last look at our summer skies for this season”.

Book online for this unique, family friendly experience.