New Zealand is one of the best places in the world to view the night skies above us. We even have a ‘Dark Sky’ Reserve in the South Island with only a tiny amount of light pollution.

Our own history begins with the skills of the Polynesian’s stargazing skills to cross oceans to find us, and then with the super skilled Māori man Tupaia on board, Captain Cook circumnavigated New Zealand, giving us many of the place names we still use today.

Our most famous star clusters in the sky are the Southern Cross and Matariki (also called the Pleides Cluster), but far above us are many other wonders. Did you know of a star above us called Bellatrix? Harry Potter fans look up!

There is also a star called Betelgeuse. (I love that movie). Famous names aside, there are many constellations and galaxies to find above us. One of the biggest is called Te Matau a Māui, also called Tail of Scorpius. This is interpreted as the fish hook of Māui, and also the front of the waka. Maori have many more names for groups of stars in the night sky, as do cultures around the world.

But of course there is much more to discover. With a pair of binoculars we can see the closest planets in our solar system. There are more types of star clusters, occasional comets and meteors, and the moon. Did you know it was once thought there were oceans on the moon?

This book shows you much more about all these wonders above us with full colour spreads, clear text and illustrations. We see inside the sun, meet famous New Zealand astronomers, and are given a map of both our Winter and Summer night skies, to make it easy to find the stars and constellations mentioned within the pages. Just take it outside at night and hold it up against the sky!

Reading The New Zealand Night Sky is a fantastic way to spark the wonder of the sky above us after dark.

Author / Illustrator – Alistair Hughes

Age – 7+

Non-Fiction

(2023, Upstart Press, White Cloud Books, NZ, New Zealand, Aotearoa, Stars, Constellations, Astronomy, Non-Fiction, Night Sky, Matariki, Moon, Sun, Planets, Comets, Meteors, Astronomers)