“My camera could pick it up before you could see it by eye,” he said. Matariki, the Māori name for the Pleiades star cluster, rises in mid-winter and heralds the Māori new year. The stars can be seen most of the year, but disappear at the beginning of chilly season. Their reappearance in the pre-dawn sky in the middle of winter represents the beginning of a new year. Because of the west location of Taranaki, and the stars rising in the east, it’s often harder to see Matariki, with many local iwi instead looking to the brightest star in the Orion constellation, Puanga.
Stars set to shine for Matariki and Puanga viewing at NP Observatory this weekend stuff.co.nz - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from stuff.co.nz Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
GO NZ: The best places to go stargazing in New Zealand
27 Apr, 2021 04:00 AM
8 minutes to read
Stargazing at Castlepoint, in the Wairarapa. The region is on track to become the largest Dark Sky Reserve in New Zealand. Photo / Daniel Rood, Supplied.
Stargazing at Castlepoint, in the Wairarapa. The region is on track to become the largest Dark Sky Reserve in New Zealand. Photo / Daniel Rood, Supplied. For my part I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of the stars makes me dream.
– Vincent Van Gogh
As the nights get longer, our night sky gets brighter. Our daylight activities may shrink, but we gain more in the constellations.