The Big Sky…

One of the most beautiful things about Big Sky is just that…the big sky. I always had an interest in astronomy, but really did not have time to pursue this interest until very recently. We knew that sharing our big sky was someting we wanted to do and we needed to first understand the galaxy, before we could talk about it.

So we flew up to the Wairarapa to undertake a Stargazing course at Stonehenge Aotearoa, New Zealand’s unique open air astronomical observatory.

Stonehenge Aotearoa is designed specifically for its location in the Wairarapa region of New Zealand’s North Island. The henge is not a replica of mysterious ancient monuments but a modern interpretation, based upon the many stone circles and astronomical stone structures scattered around the globe.

One of the facts we learnt on the course is that the best stargazing occurs on the 39-43 degrees latittude - you may know New Zealand’s latitude is 41 degrees. We are well placed to see the night sky at its best.

On the course we learnt about the best times for stargazing, where to look and what to find. We covered stargazing notions such as celestial coordinates, orientation, stars, magnitudes, constellations and understanding the ecliptic.

We also learnt about stars, galaxies, planets, nebulae, what they all mean, and how you can tell the difference between them.

We have joined the Canterbury Astronomical Society and our quest to learn about the stars, planets and our galaxy will be a life long learning passion. We look forward to sharing some of our knowledge with you.