Have you ever looked up at the night sky and wondered what is out there?
If the answer is yes, then perhaps joining an astronomical group is a move to consider.
The Central Otago Astronomical Group is holding a viewing of a lunar eclipse about 7pm next Tuesday, and hopes the event will help revive interest in astronomy and the group.
Spokesman Alan Thomas, of Alexandra, said the group, which was established in the late 1990s, still had a core group of people holding it together.
However, it would be good to get a few more interested in order to ''get it started up again'', he said.
An issue for the group, which was no longer an incorporated society as it did not have enough members, was not having a large enough population to draw from.
Getting more people interested would hopefully get the ball rolling again, he said.
A drawcard for the group was a large telescope set up at the Alexandra airport, which was a ''crowd puller'' when working. During the lunar eclipse, several telescopes would be set up for the public to use for viewing, Mr Thomas said.
Group member Barrie Wills said if ''a dozen or so'' attended the evening, he would be happy.
The evening is the only one of its kind in the Central Otago and Southern Lakes regions and the group had fielded inquiries as far as Queenstown and Wanaka, Dr Wills said.
The group would like to help anyone interested in astronomy, particularly those without telescopes, he said.
During the evening, people would also be able to view Jupiter, Saturn, and Mars, which was close to Earth at the moment, meaning some features, such as ice caps, could possibly be seen, Mr Thomas said.
A lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth passes between the sun and the moon, and the shadow of Earth is cast on to the moon.
The eclipse of the moon, occurring next Tuesday, will be a total lunar eclipse, meaning the whole moon will be covered by the Earth's shadow, the only light reaching the moon coming from refracted [bent] sunlight passing through Earth's atmosphere.
People can arrive at the airport to view the eclipse after 6pm on Tuesday.
