Sun Archives - Milky-Way.Kiwi

Tag: Sun

Human Exploration

January 14, 2019

The Difficulties in Observing the Transit of Venus in 1761 and 1769

Observing the transit of Venus was no easy task, it required careful observations and measurement. 250 years ago expeditions went out across the world to measure this amazing and rare event in order to help us understand the size of the known universe.

Human Exploration

January 10, 2019

Edmund Halley and the Beginnings of James Cook’s Trip to New Zealand

James Cook's voyage to Tahiti in 1769 was the culmination of 130 years of work to observe and understand the Transit of Venus. Edmund Halley was instrumental in laying the foundations for the successful observations in 1769 and ultimately solving the Earth - Sun distance.

October 11, 2018

Interstellar, here we come!

The amount of interstellar particles being detected by Voyager 2 may indicate that the spacecraft is about to pass through the heliopause into interstellar space.

Astronomy

September 5, 2018

The stars that we can see (except one)

The night sky is full of stars and some of the very brightest we see have some very interesting characteristics. Next time you’re looking at Sirius or Canopus you’ll be able to appreciate just how big they are compared to our very own star - the Sun.

Human Exploration

July 22, 2018

How far from the Earth to the Sun – the Astronomical Unit

Next year is the 250th anniversary of James Cook's voyage to the Pacific Ocean. One the things he did was contribute to a more accurate calculation of the distance between the Earth and the Sun by observing the transit of Venus.

June 19, 2018

Observing the planets and their apparent relative sizes

When observing the planets in astronomy it can be quite surprising to see the different sizes that appear in the eyepiece and how this can change over time.

The Night Sky

May 30, 2018

Mars is getting closer!

Mars is getting closer this year and will at it’s closest by the end of July. But don’t worry it’ll still be about 58 million kilometres away.

Astronomy

May 3, 2018

Our Sun, solar flares and the neighbour’s superflares

Our Sun has had a few outbursts that have knocked out power grids and telegraph networks as well as disrupted satellite communications. These are nothing compared to what stars similar to our Sun have been observed doing.

Astronomy

May 2, 2018

Weird Wednesday – Magnetars

Magnetars are a fascinating type of object that are really mind boggling. These incredibly powerful star remnants are worth giving a closer look.

Space Exploration

April 24, 2018

NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite – TESS

TESS was launched on a Falcon 9 rocket from SpaceX on 18 April. The satellite will survey the whole sky to look for exoplanets that transit their stars.

April 15, 2018

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe – Journey to the Sun’s Corona

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe is set for launch on 31 July to begin it’s journey to the Sun’s corona to help us understand more about the solar wind and why the corona is so hot.

Astronomy

March 8, 2018

How we are understanding more about the stuff surrounding stars

We are getting a better and better at understanding how planetary systems are formed. This article tracks the historic development of the heliocentric model and how that relates to understanding the formation of our own Solar System.

Stargazing

March 1, 2018

The Beginners Series – Measuring and Finding Stuff

Being able to describe where to find stuff in the sky is a very handy way of learning the night sky. You don’t need an expensive piece of equipment, just your arm and the hand at the end of it.

February 26, 2018

The Beginners Series – The Universe to Earth

In this article in the Beginner Series we look at the size of the universe and our place in it to give some context to the amazing sights available to the budding astronomer.

January 15, 2018

Sidewalk Astronomy

Milky-Way.kiwi did some public outreach in the weekend with some sidewalk astronomy to show people the Sun through our solar telescope.

Is there life on M̶a̶r̶s̶ Venus?

It would be ironic to discover life on Venus before we found out about it on Mars but scientists insist for now that is "just phosphine".

The Night Sky

September 2020 night sky

Find out what’s in the night sky in September 2020 with Hari, Sam from the South and Peter Detterline form the Northern Hemisphere. Why bother..

Stargazing

Watch the Perseids meteor shower live from the other hemisphere with Slooh

Watch the famous Perseid Meteor Shower online now live with Slooh. The famous shower is too low to observe properly from New Zealand and you'd have to wake up early in the morning for it.