Is there life on Venus? A multinational team of astronomers using high-altitude infrared telescopes in Hawaii and Chile have identified the gas phosphine in the upper atmosphere of the planet. So what? The significance of this discovery is that phosphine is regarded as a biosignature, possible evidence of microbial life, as Duncan Steel explains. Venus … Read more
Whiringa-ā-rangi (November) brings blossoming native flowers and delicious kaimoana. Learn more about the maramataka, the Māori lunar calendar, here. We are well into the second phase of summer Matiti Hana (see list below for phases). This phase ends around December 8, merging into the next, which is Muramura. A key tohu (sign) is the movements of … Read more
Mahuru (September) is a time of regrowth and rebirth and triggers matiti kura, the first phase of summer. It is Mahuru (September) and many of us are excited about warmer days! The name Mahuru is a shortened version of the name ‘Te ahunga o uruao’ which means the new generation of whitebait. This name aligns … Read more
Chaotic weather and energy in August means it’s a good time to take care of ourselves and our loved ones (and maybe plant some seeds). Kia ora koutou, ngā mihi o te wā o Aponga. Aponga is a month of planting or preparing the garden to lay seedlings in the next moon cycle. It is … Read more
It comes thrice a year to pummel your aura into cosmic shards. Horoscope lovers are fiends for it, knowing that soon they’ll have a whole month of stellar excuses for their abominable behaviour. Oh yeah, Mercury’s in retrograde, baby! But what does that mean? I almost had a breakdown writing this article. I want to … Read more
You’ve probably seen the image, but have you been secretly wondering why it’s such a big deal? NZ cosmologist and physicist Professor Richard Easther explains. Mathematically, a black hole is empty space. It is not so much that a black hole has mass; rather, the black hole is a pucker in the fabric of space, … Read more
We finally reach the last summer phase ‘Matiti Rauangina’, when the Paengawhāwhā constellation appears in the sky and the leaves fall from the tress. Learn more about the maramataka, the Māori lunar calendar, here. Nau mai ki te marama a Paengawhāwhā. April/Paengawhāwhā is here and we look forward to a productive cycle ahead. Add the dates below … Read more
Are our plants blooming early, or are we using a redundant system to coordinate our lives? If you look outside right now – go on – what do you see? Depending on where you’re reading this, that answer varies. Obviously. But if you happen to look up from your device anytime soon and appreciate the … Read more
Introducing our new maramataka column, focusing on the cycles of the Māori lunar calendar. Each month Ayla Hoeta will share insights into the tohu of the whenua, rangi and moana, as well as key dates to add into your calendar. The maramataka is the Māori lunar calendar. These calendars were used by our Māori and … Read more
In the south especially, New Zealanders will get the chance to witness a rare celestial event: a selenelion, writes Dr Duncan Steel. What is a selenelion (or selenehelion)? It’s when the eclipsed Moon can be seen on one horizon, while the rising Sun can also be observed near the opposite horizon. One might think this … Read more
Welcome to the Cheat Sheet, a clickable, shareable, bite-sized FAQ on the news of the moment. Today, we look at the meaning of Matariki. Matariki is the Māori name for the Pleaides star cluster. It rises during mid-winter and marks the beginning of the Māori new year. The word is an abbreviation of Ngā Mata … Read more
China’s defunct space station Tiangong-1 is expected to hit Earth in the next few hours. What are we doing, asks astrophysicist Brad E Tuckeer, to deal with the junk already in space and prevent more? Tiangong-1 is just one of many pieces of space junk left orbiting our Earth. The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) … Read more
Welcome to the Cheat Sheet, a clickable, shareable, bite-sized FAQ on the news of the moment. Today, the geodesic sphere deposited into space from the east coast of the North Island. What’s going on? The Humanity Star is the spinny, shimmering sphere that was zapped the other day into orbit from the Mahia Peninsula, New … Read more
The 20-year-old Saturn exploring Cassini spacecraft meets its fiery demise this week. Beyond revealing the universe to us, space exploration exposes our own small place in the big picture, writes cosmologist Richard Easther It has been a bitter-sweet month for solar system explorers. As a teenager and a space-geek, I had a poster of this … Read more
When astrophysicist Jordan Alexander was given the chance to travel on the Stratospheric Observatory For Infrared Astronomy, he leapt at it. It was as if I’d become trapped in a cold, noisy, enormous, and super hi-tech elevator, filled with row upon row of technical equipment – including a telescope. The elevator was a 747 aircraft, converted … Read more
Three months ago, Ian Griffin led passengers on the world’s first commercial flight to view the Southern Lights. Here he tells the story of the journey, and why he wants to do it again. The departure board at Dunedin airport on the evening of March 23 included Flight NZ1980. The destination? Dunedin. Just after 9pm we … Read more
Last night a bright disk-shaped object had New Zealanders craning their necks at the sky. Cosmologist Richard Easther explains what it was. Clue: not Venus. Last night my twitter feed carried a string of “what’s that in the western sky” queries, including this picture from Rachael King: There’s a clear disk showing in this snapshot, … Read more