skywatch

King’s Birthday weekend saw the Griffin clan decamp to our new crib in Middlemarch.

Last weekend, after some intense strategic planning as part of my day job, I finally managed an entire night under the stars at my new observing site out in Middlemarch.

Very keen-eyed visitors to the recent Cleveland National Art Awards show in Dunedin might have noticed a small, unassuming 4-by-5-inch photograph tucked away on a gallery wall - entry number 71.

In the pre-dawn hours of May 23, the sky above Dunedin becomes a tapestry of ancient stories, barely holding together.

The other day, my favourite astronomy image-processing software updated itself — as these things tend to do without so much as a by-your-leave — and presented me with a shiny new feature: "Remove...

At nearly 60, the body is no longer the reliable companion it once was.

Autumn is a wonderful time to stargaze in Otago.

If you’re an early riser with a clear view to the east, this week offers a celestial treat for which it’s well worth setting your alarm.

For more than a decade, I have called Portobello home.

Queenstown, by day, is breathtaking.

The southern hemisphere autumn equinox occurs at 10.01pm on Thursday (March 20).

On Friday, local skywatchers will be treated (or possibly tricked) by a rather peculiar celestial event: a sunset lunar eclipse as the moon rises.

For astronomers like me, the period near full moon is an excuse to be anywhere but beneath its glare.

This week, I invite you on a journey through the constellation Gemini, the Twins.

After a week of cloud-choked nights putting paid to any chance of astronomy, the forecast finally promised clear skies last Sunday.

The moon reaches its first quarter on Wednesday at 9.02pm.

As I type these words, I am getting excited at the prospect of seeing what might be the brightest comet of 2025 in the southwest after sunset.