Introduction to Star Gazing

Overview

Know where to look this Matariki.

Thanks to the advent of gmaps (and those papery gmaps-like things people drew in earlier days) we no longer need to look to the stars for directions. This is generally a pretty good thing, but when coupled with the very first world problem of light pollution, it means it can be easy to forget your place in the grand cosmic scale of things. The celebration of Matariki this month is a good opportunity to dim the lights and take a much needed look up.

Matariki is the Maori name for the star cluster known to some as the Pleiades or Seven Sisters (or even M45). The ascent of Matariki signals the change of season and heralds the start of the Maori New Year. It’s one of the more obvious clusters to the naked eye, but given that space is actually awfully big, picking it out from the crowd is no easy thing.

Thanks to John Talbot, this Matariki you can have some help. John is offering an introduction to stargazing course this Friday at the Paraparaumu Library. It’ll include some philosophy, astronomy and hot tips for spotting Matariki. There’ll even be a chance to take a peek through a telescope, weather permitting.

Like the view itself, the session is free. Get in there.