Space, the final frontier …
There are plenty of opportunities to stargaze in Christchurch and Canterbury – not even those in the central city miss out. The Townsend Observatory at the Arts Centre is open from 8pm to 10:30pm on clear Friday nights from April to September. Owned by the University of Canterbury, each year a student is appointed Townsend Observer to assist the public with viewings.
The Canterbury Astronomy Society hosts regular open nights further afield at the R.F. Joyce Observatory, at West Melton, and there is a group that holds regular meetings at Oxford Area School. Both astronomy organisations and courses are listed on the CINCH community information directory.
Day and night tours of the Mount John Observatory at Tekapo are available as are stargazing trips to Mount John and stargazing tours at Mount John and Cowan’s Hill. There are hopes that UNESCO may designate the skies above Lake Tekapo as the first ever World’s Heritage Starlight Reserve, according to the Otago Daily Times.
Space and astronomy resources
Our online resources
- Going to the moon
- Exploring Mars
- Matariki, the Māori New Year
- Meteorites
- Children can take a rocket ride and learn about space on our Space Explorer
- Astronomy organisations from the CINCH database
Internet Gateway web links
- The Canterbury Astronomy Society hosts regular open nights
- The Carter Observatory
- The Mt John Observatory in Tekapo
- Taati Arorangi – a guide to Māori astronomy
- Maramataka, the Māori lunar calendar
- Google Sky
- Cassini-Huygens mission to Saturn
- Mars
- Transit of Venus
Browse the resources in our libraries
New Zealand Astronomy titles- Astronomy history titles
- Handbooks for stargazing
- Star guides and a star chart
- Information on telescopes
- Stars and galaxies through the Hubble telescope
- How to be an astronaut for children
International Year of Astronomy 2009
UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation, designated 2009 the International Year of Astronomy 2009. New Zealand was one of the 136 countries taking part in this celebration, in partnership with the International Astronomical Union.
The year focused attention on the stars and the people who study them, with the aim of helping people around the world, and especially young people, rediscover the wonder and joy of stargazing and get a better understanding of the world and science of astronomy. The theme for the year was: the universe – yours to discover.
The year coincided with the 400th anniversary of Gallileo’s first use of an astronomical telescope, and one of the 11 cornerstone projects aimed to give 10 million children their first look at space through a telescope similar to the one used by Gallileo. In New Zealand there were numerous events, and a secondary school art competition.
