Marvels captured moment to moment
As this is the final Skywatch column for the year, it feels like the right moment to look back rather than up — though, of course, I’ve done plenty of both.
skywatch
Orion Nebula glows defiantly
Orion Nebula glows defiantly
Out in Middlemarch last week, under what might generously be called a luminous sky — the full moon hanging over the Strath Taieri like an over-keen floodlight — I turned my telescope toward Orion.
Cosy stargazing from home
Cosy stargazing from home
Occasionally, astronomy presents you with a piece of technology that changes your life.
Poetry of coronal auroras
Poetry of coronal auroras
On the evening of November 12, I found myself repeating a familiar ritual of this remarkable solar cycle.
Lighting just the way ahead
Lighting just the way ahead
I’ve been spending a lot of evenings lately at my new observatory near Middlemarch.
Cocktail induces a warm glow
Cocktail induces a warm glow
There are weeks when the Skywatch column drifts a little off course.
Braiding a story from day’s-end parade
Braiding a story from day’s-end parade
Look west this week just after the sun drops and you’ll find Scorpius leaning into the dusk, its sting almost vertical, and Antares beating time where the scorpion’s heart would be.
Third whole conference just for Steve
Third whole conference just for Steve
From Dunedin to Fairbanks, Alaska, is a long way — roughly 12,000km, or one very long Air New Zealand flight featuring a toilet seat clearly designed by a sadist
Fleeting sprites in the night
Fleeting sprites in the night
Last Saturday night, I headed out into my Middlemarch paddock to photograph what I thought would be a modest aurora.
Pisces’ quiet connections
Pisces’ quiet connections
On Monday evening, when twilight softens and the first stars begin to appear, the moon will wander into the constellation Pisces, the Fishes.
Analemma proof science works
Analemma proof science works
The equinox slipped past us this week.
Aurora’s unbidden beauty a reflection of life itself
Aurora’s unbidden beauty a reflection of life itself
The seasons are shifting, and with them so are the skies above Otago.
Lunar eclipse before breakfast
Lunar eclipse before breakfast
In the small hours of Monday morning, the Moon will be slipping quietly into Earth’s shadow. From Dunedin, the eclipse begins well before dawn, though at first you’ll hardly notice.
Partial eclipse a taste of the show to come
Partial eclipse a taste of the show to come
Early on Monday, September 22, Dunedin will wake to a sunrise that isn’t quite right.
Long exposure reveals beauty
Long exposure reveals beauty
The Tarantula Nebula is a gaudy show-off, even by cosmic standards. A city of stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud, 170,000 light-years from Earth, its clouds of gas writhe and billow like smoke...
Myths, a ghost and a parting
Myths, a ghost and a parting
If you step outside about an hour after sunset on Tuesday, you’ll find a small gathering in the west that’s worth your time.
A wild night’s precious sights
A wild night’s precious sights
Last weekend, I found myself in Middlemarch, attempting the impossible: warming up a shed.
A deception in the heavens
A deception in the heavens
Skywatching is often about seeing new things, but just as often, it’s about humility, Ian Griffin writes.
A tale of two planets in the evening glow
A tale of two planets in the evening glow
There’s something quietly marvellous about stepping outside just after sunset in midwinter.
Despite cloud cover the sun shines through
Despite cloud cover the sun still shines through
What does an astronomer do when the skies are cloudy, and the moon is full? Ian Griffin has found a new way to watch the sky - and it's not what you might expect.