Also find out how
you can be a
citizen scientist
As you learn more about the night sky, why don’t you
Globe at Night is a citizen science programme where people measure the darkness of the night sky.
A study conducted by researchers from the GFZ German Research Center for Geosciences, the Ruhr-Universität Bochum and the US National Science Foundation’s NOIRLab, dubbed the “Globe at Night” Citizen Science Project, included 50,000 naked eye night sky observations made by volunteers between 2011 and 2022.
It revealed that satellite measurements misreported the amount of existing light pollution: (1) by missing the horizontal light – such as light from advertising or billboards. (2) because current satellites measuring it are less sensitive to blue light.
Just like the 50,000 citizen scientists participating in the study, you can help for the 2023 round. This is also a great opportunity to know your night sky.
At Star Safari, we encourage all our visitors to become a citizen scientist and help Globe at Night figure out how much energy we, humans, waste, illuminating the skies at night. Nestled within the world’s 21st Dark Sky Reserve in Wairarapa, Star Safari isn’t just a destination—it’s a movement.
Through Spaceward Bound New Zealand, we provide educational programmes for schools that explain the effects of light pollution to students and teachers. We also include Globe at Night.
Also check out Look After Our Night Sky exhibition we created to support the announcement for the Wairarapa Dark Sky Reserve. 🌟🌌🔭
All you need to do is count the number of stars on your street (or any place you like really) and report it anonymously to Globe at Night.
Below are a couple of articles you can read about Globe at night
Globe at night
Scorpius and Sagittarius
The measurements taken for the Globe at Night must be done on a moonless night. This is why Globe at Night recommends they are done around the New Moon.
It might sound silly because everyone knows that stargazing is done outside, at night and if is not cloudy but you would be surprised how much planning goes into it.
First, the sky is genuinely dark when the Sun is 12 degrees below the horizon. This is what is called night. For astrophotography, you wish to have a sky as dark as possible.
Twilight is the period between sunset and night. During that time, we indirectly see scattered light from the Sun after it sets.
For a successful stargazing night, you must know your sunset and sunrise times and the phase of the Moon,
And, of course, your targets for the night, that is, what are you planning to look at?
The app we use to navigate around the night sky is SkySafari 7 Pro. Developed by Simulation Curriculum Corp, this app is a great way to learn about stars, planets and deep sky objects.
By definition, the Milky Way is the sum of 150 billion stars, so bright that from Earth we can see them as a continuous band of light. Some of these stars we can resolve (stargazer’s slang for distinguish) with our eye, some other with binoculars and telescopes.
The Milky Way is so striking here in New Zealand that everyone should find directions by it. By the way, the Pole Star is overrated (you would know if you ever spent lots of time trying to find it). On top of that, is not even visible from New Zealand. So, if you need directions here, just follow the Milky Way. It will lead you to the Southern Cross. The Southern Cross is in the Milky Way. A few more steps and you will know precisely where the south is.
This is the correct way of saying brightest stars as viewed from Earth.
Just because a star is bright, it doesn’t mean is also close.
A great example of the deceiving way in which things appear to the unaided eye at night.
Astronomers designated “alpha” to name the brightest stars in a constellation and “omega” the dimmest.
Here is an example of Alpha Centauri (photo by NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope) and Omega Centauri (photo by Sam @spacesamuel)
Alpha and Omega also means the beginning and the end, a very powerful symbol.
We love keeping an eye on these two objects. From Star Safari, Wairarapa, NZ they are circumpolar and so they are always in the sky.
Stars of the circumpolar region never set never rise, they move around in a circle in 23 hours and 56 minutes.
Because of that, they are at different heights in the sky at different times of the night or of the year if you look at them just after sunset.
The Milky Way traverses a section of the circumpolar region.
Other asterism are The Fish in the Frying Pan, The Diamond Cross, the False Cross.
Canopus and Achernar are also circumpolar stars as seen from New Zealand and so are the Magellanic Clouds, our pet galaxies.
The Moon is the enemy of the Milky Way, and faint objects observing. It casts so much light that dim, deep sky objects wash out in the Moonlight. The Moon is like a giant reflector, reflecting light from the Sun. And yet, according to NASA, the Moon has a very low albedo: 0.07. Albedo is the amount of light reflected by an object compared to the light it receives. So the Moon only reflects 0.07% of the light it receives from the Sun, yet it is so bright!
This can be particularly disappointing if you plan to photograph the night sky.
The Moon is actually as dark as the side of your car’s tyres.
As August unfurls, watch how the Sun waking everyone up earlier and earlier! At the start of the month, it appears over the horizon around 7:30AM, and by month’s end, almost 40 minutes earlier. Likewise, while it dissapears at 5:30PM initially, it lingers a bit longer, taking an extra half-hour before bowing out by the 31st.
As August unfurls, watch how the Sun waking everyone up earlier and earlier! At the start of the month, it appears over the horizon around 7:30AM, and by month’s end, almost 40 minutes earlier. Likewise, while it dissapears at 5:30PM initially, it lingers a bit longer, taking an extra half-hour before bowing out by the 31st.
The Sun this year is far from being boring. In the last week of July we counted 19 sunspots on its surface during a routine observing session. That’s 19 more than we saw for years. So if you’re into solar observing now is the time. Get your solar telescope, join an astronomical society or visit us at Star Safari during school holidays.
In August, the Sun first transits the zodiacal constellations of Cancer, then moves into Leo on the 11th of August, which stays until the 17th of September. The zodiacal constellations are those stars visible behind the plane of our Solar System, about 8 degrees on each side of the ecliptic. Remember, one degree is the width of your pinky at arm’s length. They form a band called the Zodiacal Band in the sky.
Since the Sun is now transiting Cancer and Leo, we cannot see the stars in these constellations. They are behind the glare of the Sun. We should remind everyone that it’s dangerous to look into the Sun. Of course, if you have a solar telescope designed to look at the Sun and is well-maintained, then you can look at the Sun.
The Sun in Leo means only one thing: Aquarius is opposite the Sun (180 degrees on the other side of the zodiacal band). Aquarius will rise just after sunset and be visible all night long.
August is a fabulous month as the centre of the galaxy, our own Milky Way climbs all the way up to Zenith and there are so many objects in there to admire. If you’re from anywhere in the upper parts of the Northern Hemisphere, take advantage of the sight. Only at the southern latitudes the centre of the galaxy climbs up so high, which means only from here you can see really good quality celestial objects!
Another advantage for us here are the long nights of winter where you can gaze at the stars a long time!
So what’s the most beautiful sight in the evening sky?
1. By far, The Milky Way: The band of the Milky Way stretches across the night sky from south to north, offering a breathtaking view of our home galaxy. The core of the Milky Way is overhead, brimming with dense cluster of stars, nebulae, and dark dust lanes.
2. Planets:
3. Asterisms (these are the dot-to-dot imaginary objects we think we can make with the stars):
4. The Magellanic Clouds: Our two nearest irregular galaxy neighbors, the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, are visible as faint, cloudy patches incredibly beautiful and bright from our site at Star Safari Observatory. These galaxies are rich in star formation and are home to many young star clusters and nebulae. We love Tarantula Nebula and 47 Tucanae, which are really easy objects to find but there are so many more to see.
5. Meteors and Meteor Showers: We always get asked about the Perseid meteor shower, it is really not worth getting upset about it, we simply don’t have the opportunity to see it well here. We mean, the best you can do is possibly catching a few Perseids close to the northern horizon if you are lucky not to look into light pollution. However, during a good observing night, from Star Safari Observatory you will see at least a few meteors blazing the night sky. And as we are connected to the Fireballs New Zealand check out their page.
6. Nebulae and Star Clusters: The Carina Nebula, a vast region of star formation, Jewel of the Southern Skies, is one of our absolute favourite targets, with its intricate patterns of gas and dust. It really looks like an eye with a brow. Meanwhile, the open star clusters of the Southern Pleiades (IC 2602) and the Jewel Box (NGC 4755) offer dazzling sights through our very large telescopes and amazing eyepieces.
All you need to do, is visit us at Star Safari, catch a meteor and make a wish.
This table gives you by default what’s in the sky for the dates that you are browsing. If you wish to look at a different month, use the arrows to change the month.
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If you are in Wairarapa, come stargazing with us.
Wairarapa is now an official Dark Sky Reserve – find out more in our Look after our night sky exhibition here.
We have the best telescope equipment for public viewing on the North Island, with the most extensive range of powerful telescopes for stargazing. And, of course, we have hot chocolate.
Experience astronomy and space in virtual reality VR when the sky is cloudy.
When we are not doing stargazing with the public or with our own telescopes, we turn to SLOOH to explore the Universe. If you are really passionate about astronomy, want to learn more or just expand your knowledge, SLOOH is the next level. See you there, make sure you join the Star Safari club and say hi.
Patented technology to explore space. Robotic, mountaintop, online telescopes, live 18+ hours per day.
Curated journey of discovery. Space is a vast wilderness and Slooh is like a national park, with trails and guides.
Communal exploration of the Universe. Learn from fellow members using the telescopes.
Milky-Way.Kiwi is a social enterprise for quality and affordable access to the night sky run by professional space science communicators. We provide educational services for teachers and schools – Spaceward Bound NZ, stargazing and astronomy and space courses and programmes for the public – Star Safari and we write about space and astronomy with a New Zealand perspective.
At Star Safari, everyone 15 and younger is FREE because we believe that young people should not pay for inspiration.
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