As New Zealand celebrates Matariki, Paula Hulburt discovers what makes the Top of the South so special when it comes to stargazing and why the night skies here are so alluring.
Dawn is several hours away. Puffs of warm breath hitting the cold night air briefly bloom and disappear as stargazers point telescopes skyward. The Wai-iti dark sky park near Wakefield is almost silent as, above, the Milky Way dazzles.
Once a popular recreation reserve for day trippers from Nelson in the 19th century, the whispers of picnics past hover in the peace, the echoes of laughter just out of reach. The Top of the South Dark Sky Committee have helped make the domain a popular haunt once again. The clear winter nights at the domain are a welcome sight for members of the Nelson Astronomical Society, a time of wonder as the clearer skies reveal more of their secrets than any other time of the year.
For long time astronomer and society secretary Dennis Goodman, the colder nights are special. “Winter is definitely the best time as you get the clearer skies in the middle of winter, bringing parts of the Milky Way directly overhead. It’s just magnificent. “When you look up at the Milky Way, you’re looking at the centre of the galaxy.”
Dennis is fascinated by the sky. As a keen 16-year-old he first became secretary of the society, a role he has gravitated back to.
He has spent decades studying the night sky and fondly remembers saving to buy his first telescope for $400 in the 1970s. “I got my first telescope in 1970 from proceeds of my job at the Watties factory.”
You can hear the warmth in his voice as Dennis recollects his early days as a stargazer. “I remember taking my telescope out as a kid between 7 and 8pm on a winter’s evening, but you wouldn’t see much because of the haze from the fires. It’s much better now, you get a lot of clear nights in the Top of the South but now the problem is light pollution.”
“If you want to see the night sky at its pristine best, you need to go to the country, to Wai-iti. “We are also in a fortunate position in the north side of Nelson, being so far away from the main town, and from out there the sky, on a very clear moonless night, can be just magnificent.”
Winter in New Zealand signals the beginning of Matariki, the Māori New Year and the rising of the seven sisters, or the Pleiades. During the months of June and July, the Matariki star cluster reappears above the horizon, ushering in a new year according to the Māori lunar calendar.
While navigators followed these stars to guide them across the Pacific centuries ago, the cluster are relatively new in terms of stars, explains Dennis. “The Seven Sisters are significant as in stellar term they’re very young, so young that if you take photos, you can see remnants of the dust cloud where the stars were formed.”
Dennis is looking forward to seeing the rising of Matariki in the dawn skies and is set to attend a dark sky retreat in Otago. While Nelson city is too close to the hills for a crystal-clear view, Rarangi and Seddon in Marlborough are ideal, he says.
But wherever he is in the country, Dennis keeps a keen eye on the night skies. “Sometimes I just go out at night and stand on my doorstep and have a look at what’s up there. The northern hemisphere don’t see it like we do, we get unique views that are really special.”
For Ralph Bradley, chairman of the Top of the South Dark Sky Committee, protecting the pristine night skies that offer such rewards is of vital importance. While he says the Wai-iti Dark Sky Park has been created for pure enjoyment, it has a more serious function too – preserving the night sky for future generations.
He was instrumental in helping the 135-hectare park gain sought-after Dark Sky status. The park is one of just four in New Zealand to achieve this.
Wai-iti Dark Sky Park has achieved international recognition, being endorsed by the International Dark Sky Association (IDA). It includes the Wai-iti Recreational Reserve and Tunnicliff Forest, just south of Wakefield.
“This is a small step to preserve the night sky for future generations. It is a place to teach and educate the community about the importance of the natural dark night sky for our own health and well-being, and that of plants and animals in our environment.”
Ralph’s fascination with astronomy began when aged 11, he witnessed an unusual event for the Top of the South, a full-scale aurora. Then living in Golden Bay, he was shaken awake by his father who got up at 1am to ready for work at the local exchange. What Ralph saw that night made a huge impact. “It was very, very rare that far north. The sky was dancing with blues and greens. It made such an impression on me and started my interest in the night sky.”
Over the last four years, Ralph has painstakingly built an observatory on his farm near Wakefield. It has been a labour of love for the one-time automotive engineer. He hopes to soon open it to members of the public to help educate people about the importance of preserving what he explains is a precious commodity. “Our propensity of lighting up the night is damaging; we’re going away from soft light and candlelight to LED, and the blue light is causing serious damage. You lose the view of the stars, that treasure that we really must preserve. A world without stars is like a world without flowers.
Talented Nelson-based Astro photographer Jack Burden is preserving the night skies too, capturing them through a lens. While he has never owned a telescope his fascination with the dark skies quickly become a passion.
After many years of stargazing, the hugeness of space is still a concept he struggles to comprehend, he says. “I think the thing that attracts me to photographing the night sky is the peacefulness when standing under a sky full of stars. It is like a little reset for me, to get away from the city lights and remind myself that many of our day-to-day stresses can be very trivial.
“After many years of stargazing, the vastness of space is still something I’m trying to get my head around. I don’t think I can ever comprehend it. Space is quite the leveller.”
A camping trip with his dad to Motuihe Island in the Hauraki Gulf as an eight-year-old is recalled when Jack is asked when his interest in stars began? He remembers gazing up, neck tilted back and eyes wide in wonder. “Dad was pointing out the Southern Cross and “The Pot” (Orion). I think I always had an interest from that point on and would always look up when camping in Coromandel with my family.”
His interest grew, and when he first started photography in 2014, it was the skies he was attracted to. Self-taught, he laughs as he recalls his first attempts. “The first time I attempted to capture the stars was on Whangamata Beach in the Coromandel. I wasn’t even sure which settings to use or how to focus on the stars.”
Since then, Jack’s photos have garnered international interest and he holds beginners’ workshops in Mount Maunganui, attended by up to 50 people. “It was such a buzz seeing these folks smile from ear to ear once they captured a sharp photo of the night sky.”
Like other stargazers, Jack looks forward to winter, the very early wake-up calls now two-fold with a new baby in the house. “I absolutely love capturing images in autumn especially. It means a pretty obnoxious wake-up time to shoot the Milky Way - around 3 or 4am.
“My latest purchase was an astro tracker, which rotates at the same speed as the earth, so I can capture longer exposures of the stars at a much lower iso, making the image a lot cleaner and less grainy.
“I feel very lucky to be living in Nelson and to have world-class dark skies within an hour’s drive. This winter is a bit different for me however, as we have a three-month-old. I’m still getting sleepless nights, just unfortunately not under the stars as much as usual.”
So, what is it about the night sky that fascinates us so much? For Jack, it’s a sense of connection. “I feel like it might be because you can look up and see the same stars that your ancestors saw once upon a time.
“We have certainly lost our connection with the stars for the most part. In Maori culture, the stars play an important role, in the past being used for navigation as well as an indicator of when to hunt certain species and many other uses. It is a shame, but I think with more emphasis being placed on Matariki, we can all use it as a chance to learn more about the heavens above.”
