According to a paper prepared by renowned Māori astronomer Professor Rangi Matamua, Matariki occurs on the closest Friday to the lunar phase known as Tangaroa (last quarter moon) in the Māori lunar month of Pipiri (which begins in May or June).
I will attend the annual Matariki Ahuka Nui dawn ceremony on the Tūhura Otago Museum Reserve just before dawn for a karakia to farewell the past year and welcome the new one. While the celebration is certainly worthy of attending in its own right, I plan to get up super early beforehand. I want to stop near Broad Bay on the Otago Peninsula to enjoy my first viewing of the star cluster over the harbour.
Last year, I was lucky to enjoy almost perfect conditions to view Matariki. I will never forget the sight of the cluster rising over the Portobello peninsula on a windless night with extraordinary reflections from the mirror-like surface of the harbour.
Matariki (the star cluster known as the Pleiades in Western astronomy) rises in the North East just before 5am on Friday.
At about 5.15am, the waning crescent moon, which will be just under 15% illuminated, will clear the horizon just below and to the right of Matariki. The celestial pairing will make for a beautiful sight in the pre-dawn sky and is certainly well worth getting up early for.
The best time to view against a dark sky and perhaps catch sight of ghostly earthshine on the moon will be about 6am when Matariki will be some 10 degrees above the horizon.
Jupiter is also visible on Friday morning as a bright yellow-white "star" some 30 degrees above the horizon.
The largest planet in the solar system is presently moving through the constellation Aries.
