Whether high overhead or hugging the horizon or anything in between, the Milky Way is always there. The reason we can’t always see it is … LIGHT POLLUTION! Even though the light pollution in question sometimes comes from our lovely Moon*.

The part of the Milky Way that will always be in our southern sky is the beautiful region of Vela, Carina and Puppis, as well as the Southern Cross. These stars are circumpolar.

By definition, our galaxy is the sum of about 100 billion stars (NASA; ESA). Our Solar System sits about two-thirds of the way from its center, so we see this vast collection of stars as a glowing band across the sky crossed by long dark lines. Some of these stars are bright enough to resolve (stargazer slang for ‘distinguish’) with the unaided eye, while others reveal their detail through binoculars or telescopes.

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*Yet, even under a full Moon, you can still glimpse the Milky Way from Star Safari—faint, but definitely there!

The Circumpolar Region is that part of the sky we always see from our latitude here in Aotearoa. It contains some of the most spectacular objects visible in the entire sky. 

The Milky Way intersects the circumpolar region in the Carina-Crux region.  

Famous New Zealand asterisms in there are: The Fish in the Frying Pan, The Diamond Cross, and the False Cross. 

In addition, the bright stars Canopus and Achernar are also circumpolar from New Zealand, as are the Magellanic Clouds, our pet galaxies. 

Stars in the circumpolar region neither rise nor set; they continuously circle the celestial pole, completing one full rotation in 23 hours and 56 minutes. This means that at the same hour each night, they appear slightly shifted compared to the previous night, gradually changing their position over the course of the year.

As the Earth and the other planets in our solar system orbit around the Sun, they do so almost in the same plane – this is called the ecliptic. From our point of view on Earth, this looks like a band of about 8 degrees in the sky, which is smaller than the width of your fist held at arm’s length.  The stars that are visible behind the path of the planets are the Zodiacal Constellations, they form the Zodiacal Band.

The Inner Planets

Mercury and Venus, being close to the Sun, are only visible just after sunset or just before sunrise—never in the middle of the night. Their elongation, distance from the Sun, is always less than half the sky.

The Outer Planets

Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune can appear at any time of the night, depending on their position in their orbits.

Uranus and Neptune are too dim to be seen with the unaided eye, requiring binoculars or a telescope. In fact, their faintness kept them hidden until they were identified as planets—Uranus on 13 March 1781 and Neptune on 23 September 1846.

Media often sensationalizes these events, but in reality, they are regular occurrences without significant impact**. The planets in our Solar System orbit the Sun in roughly the same plane, known as the ecliptic, with orbital inclinations typically within a few degrees of each other. For instance, Mercury has the largest inclination at about 7 degrees. Given this arrangement, alignments of planets are natural and frequent phenomena and most times rather than not we will see the planets in an arch across the sky. 

Not all planets are visible at one given time, always: some are in the morning sky, some are in the evening sky and some are hiding behind the Sun.

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**Except for the famous planetary alignment that led to the launch the Voyagers.

The Voyager mission took advantage of a rare planetary alignment in the late 1970s and 1980s, enabling a four-planet tour—Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune—with minimal fuel and time. This alignment, occurring once every 175 years, allowed the spacecraft to use gravity assists instead of large onboard propulsion (NASA).

The best time to see satellites is just after sunset or before sunrise. Why? Because of the angle at which light falls onto them. 

UFOs: Unidentified? Not for Long!

Every stargazing night, someone inevitably spots a mysterious moving light and whispers, “What was the weirdest thing you guys have seen?” And even with more than 12,000+ satellites orbiting above us, the answer is usually, “No, that’s just Elon Musk’s space WiFi.”

But let’s not ruin all the fun—because historically, UFO sightings have ranged from military test flights to overenthusiastic birds reflecting city lights. The real trick is knowing what’s actually up there:

🛰 Satellites – They glide steadily across the sky, sometimes in long trains (looking at you, Starlink).

🔥 Space junk re-entry – They can make for a good light show, but they look more like a match catching on fire rather than an alien invasion.

☄️ Meteors – Quick, bright streaks that don’t hover, so if it’s zooming and gone in a flash, you’re probably safe from abduction.

🛸 Actual UFO? – Well… statistically unlikely, but if they do land in NZ, make sure to ask them “So… what did you get up to in the weekend?” That should send them straight back to their spacecraft.

Is stargazing a hobby? Turn your passion into science!

The best way to learn the night sky is to observe it—and you can also contribute to science! Globe at Night is a citizen science project where you count stars in specific constellations to help track light pollution worldwide.

Stargazing in Aotearoa New Zealand