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Astronomy Tours of the night (and day!) sky in Murcia
Look at the surface of the sun, take a tour of the stars while eating tapas on a cruise ship and much more with the English-speaking team at Murcia’s Finca Astronomica
Have you ever looked up at the sky and wondered what’s out there to see? Do you ever feel the desire to get lost, floating along the milky way? Or maybe you’re just looking for something a bit different to do this weekend?
Try out an Astronomy Tour at the Finca Astronomica in the Campo de Cartagena in Murcia! The Finca Astronomica is a place where families and friends can spend quality time together close to nature to learn about astronomy.
Not only do they organise evening activities with a bonfire, meal and telescope observations, but you can also take part in daytime sun observations!
Right now, after nearly 5 months of work, the Finca, which is supported by the Astronomy and Science Centre Foundation, is offering private observations every other day and special Astronomy Nights every Saturday, though these will be put on more often as we get closer to summer.
Day time sun observations via solar telescopes will be a regular event from May onwards, and right now are available as part of a private tour. The Foundation is also setting up a planetarium, which will be operational during the daytime, along with solar observations with telescopes for you to actually look at the surface of the sun with a specialised solar telescope.
You can hire out the Finca for events like birthday parties and wedding anniversaries, and buy handmade objects like craftwork and artwork that the staff make when they are not doing astronomy, including paintings, posters and calendars with pictures of celestial objects, wooden shelves and accessories, animal houses, handmade soaps with pure gold and silver, candles with ‘stardust’ and loads more.
What’s more, as animal lovers, they are also working on creating a mini zoo and a workshop to promote interaction with nature and an ecofriendly life style. Finca Astronomica is a place where all folks, young and old, can have good time together, and they are getting more animals every month. The animals all live in really big enclosures where people can enter to interact with them directly.
The team of astronomers at the Finca are also available to travel to other locations and perform lectures, workshops and telescope observations there. The equipment they have at their disposal includes really big telescopes for night time observations, robotic telescopes for very distant observations and astrophotography, solar telescopes for sun observations and a portable, inflatable planetarium with some great films courtesy of NASA and the European Southern Observatory (ESO).
What other astronomical activities can you do?
As well as the events at the Finca, there are specialist Astronomy Tours elsewhere in the Murcia Region, too, such as in Camposol, San Pedro del Pinatar and La Manga del Mar Menor.
One of the most incredible activities on offer is the totally unique ‘Cruise under the Stars’. It’s exactly what it sound like – a boat ride on the Mar Menor at night to see the stars in the night sky, complete with tapas and drinks.
What can you see through the telescopes?
With the optical telescopes (the ones where you literally see the objects with your own eye via the telescope), you can see the Moon, the planets of the Solar System including details such as the rings around Saturn, the Great Red Spot of Jupiter and even the moons of Jupiter, plus the difference between different stars (for example whether they are young or old), nebulas like The Great Nebula of Orion and much more!Thanks to the robotic telescopes and astrophotography gear, you can take long-time light exposures to get images of very distant objects such as other galaxies and very detailed pictures of many astronomical phenomena, like nebulas.
Solar telescopes are very specialised types of telescopes which, thanks to a variety of filters, allow us to look to the surface of the Sun and see the corona, the dark spots and the amazing sight of solar flares (explosions on the Sun, especially spectacular now, in time of great solar activity we are experiencing over next few years).
Contact the Finca Astronomica to visit for a daytime or nighttime Astronomy Tour, or book one of their cruises under the stars.
Address
Casas del Puente 3, Cartagena, Murcia, Spain, 30397Tel: +34 623 140 902
The Astronomy and Science Centre Foundation has star-themed events and activities to delight novices and experts of all ages
Astronomy Tours runs a whole host of astronomical activities and events in the Murcia Region, from astronomical observation sessions to a magical cruise under the stars, to really fire up an interest in the cosmic world beyond our atmosphere.
Their main base of operations is the Finca Astronomica, located close to the town of La Aljorra in the Campo de Cartagena, where you can join their astronomy tours either in the daytime or at night, all year round.
At the Finca, you’re welcomed with delicious food, drinks, a bonfire and a variety of astronomical tools and gadgets. In the summer season, they also have tours in other locations, including San Pedro del Pinatar, La Manga and Camposol, not to mention their unmissable cruise under the stars, which involves a nighttime cruise on the Mar Menor with tapas and drinks, plus a guided presentation of the night sky as you watch the galaxy glide by.
The Astronomy Tours and the Finca Astronomica are supported by the Astronomy and Science Centre Foundation, which was founded in 2019 by a group of astronomers and Starlight-certified guides and monitors in the astronomical observatories in Spain.The purpose of the Foundation is to promote the knowledge and interest in the field of astronomy and astronomy-related sciences, which covers areas such as physics, chemistry, biology, geology, but also history, archeology, urban and medical aspects of social life, literature, art, culture and (of course) astrology.
By promoting this knowledge and getting their customers interested in astronomy, the Foundation hopes to achieve higher goals such as bringing the stars a little closer to people, and helping them to understand the importance of caring about our planet and the whole human population as a one.
To achieve those goals, the Foundation organises its day- and nighttime activities and camps which are suitable for both children and adults, and as well as this they work with 
schools and organisations and write books for children to bring astronomy to the masses.
schools and organisations and write books for children to bring astronomy to the masses.As part of this mission, they’re creating an astronomically themed park right on the Costa Cálida called the Astronomy and Science Centre which has an observatory available to the public to see the stars and the planets, and where they also promote ecofriendly and sustainable activities and closeness to nature.
The Finca Astronomica even has its own friendly and well cared for animals which live in really big spaces where people can easily enter and interact with them in their own environment.
What’s more, you can get involved in all sorts of other fun and activities for all the family at the Finca Astronomica, including glamping under the stars, stroking the animals at their petting zoo and enjoying sports like darts, archery, nerf gun fights, and many more.
This year, Finca Astronomica is excited to unveil its very own Yurt Village. Alongside the beautifully crafted wooden glamping pods, the yurts combine traditional charm with all the modern comforts including double beds, cosy carpets and plenty of shelving for your personal belongings.
But that’s not all. Each yurt comes handily equipped with light and electricity, so that you can charge your devices even as you recharge your spirit under the vast, starry sky.
This summer season is about to come alive with regular tours happening three days a week, while Adult Only Fridays are just around the corner.
Tours are available in English, Spanish and Polish.
