The Australian National University expects to shatter its own stargazing Guinness World Record on Wednesday, and is urging Canberrans with stars in their eyes to turn their eyes to the sky.
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The university set the record for the most people stargazing across multiple venues in August 2015, when 7960 people across 37 locations in Australia stared simultaneously at the night sky.
Dr Brad Tucker, from the ANU's research school of astronomy and astrophysics, said he expected that mark would be easily eclipsed on Wednesday.
"Already, we've got 3100 people signed up for the Canberra event alone, and we have more than 250 sites nationally this time," Dr Tucker said.
"I think we will break the record and it will be a pretty big break. We want to set a record that you'd have to be pretty crazy to even try and beat."
Dr Tucker said the record attempt couldn't have come at a better time, with Canberrans' interest in space and astronomy piqued by the news that Australia's first space agency will be based in the capital.
"We originally started this to really get people looking and thinking about their place in the world," he said.
"Stargazing shows that science is not just about a few people in lab coats doing work, but that science is everywhere and we can all get involved.”
Dr Tucker will also lead a citizen science project to search for new exploding stars in space, known as supernovae. Scientists use supernovae, which are explosions as bright as 100 million billion billion billion lightning bolts, as light sources to measure the universe and acceleration of its growth.
Wednesday's world record attempt in Canberra will take place at Fellows Oval, on ANU's Acton campus, between 8pm and 9pm. To register, visit the ANU website.
Each participant needs their own telescope or binoculars to feature in the world record count, and those who don't have either can buy a telescope when registering, and collect it from 5pm on the night.
"We've bought 30,000 telescopes and shipped them around the country," Dr Tucker said.
"They're $6.50 each and we're selling them at cost price."
The record attempt coincides with the ABC's Stargazing Live TV broadcast from the ANU Sliding Spring Observatory, hosted by Professor Brian Cox and TV personality Julia Zemiro.
