STARGAZERS were chasing the wonders of the night sky, holding a telescope in hand and cosying up to their warm blankets at Mount Barney in the lead up in attempting to break Guinness World Record.
Almost 50 people gathered at Mount Barney Lodge on Wednesday night to join the challenge of looking at the moon through a telescope or binoculars lens for 10 minutes.
They joined thousands of others across Australia in hopes of breaking the record of the most people simultaneously staring at the night sky in the same country.
A sausage sizzle was held and local astrophotographer Kate Wall explained to keen viewers what could be seen in the night sky before the count down for the record attempt began.
For some it was a challenge to stay still while others like pre-teen Dexter Berrington had no trouble.
"I feel energetic and happy because I knew I could do it," he said.
"The moon was so bright in the telescope, it looks like cheese with holes but the holes were craters."
Mount Barney Lodge co-owner Tracey Larkin said she was thrilled to see people make the trip from Logan, Tamborine and Peak Crossing to attend the event.
“We had to get a minimum of 25 people to have a valid viewing so I was hoping for 30 people but seeing about 60 people come with 47 stargazing was awesome,” she said.
“I think people who made the effort to come all this way were committed to breaking the record and we had a pretty good steward to make sure no one made any errors,” she said.
Ms Larkin said it was a beautiful event watching people connect and share the love of astronomy.
“It was really special and looking on as everyone began the 10 minutes, I thought it would drag on but it was over so quickly,” she said.
“The only regret of the night was that we couldn’t make that moment last longer.”
Afterwards, enthusiasts joined Ms Wall for a photography workshop to capture the stars, planets and milky way among the mountains around them.
Ms Larkin said Ms Wall’s explanation and workshop was well-received.
“Thanks to Kate, people started to develop a passion for the different stars and planets that they had seen their whole life but didn’t notice small details like the red of Mars ,” she said.
“Her talks really stimulated interest in astronomy and grew a greater appreciation for it and I think that’s what the national event was supposed to achieve.”
Ms Larkin said she was looking forward to hear the results in about one week to see if they had helped break the world record.