skywatch

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.

If the sky is clear over the next few nights and you have a pair of binoculars handy, you can enjoy viewing six of the solar system’s eight major planets after sunset.

Since my relocation to New Zealand almost 12 years ago, the southern sky has become more than just a view.

As the sky darkens this week, Venus will be the first "star" you see, shining brightly in the western sky.

If you are a fan of the largest planet in the solar system, now is a great time to check it out.

Over the past few weeks, I have enjoyed some marvellous moon views using binoculars and telescopes.

Last weekend, I was at the University of Canterbury’s observatory atop Mt John in the Mackenzie Country.

This week, I have been getting up before dawn to try to spot a bright comet in the eastern sky.