Tag: Matariki

Northern Summer Starts, Moon Joins Jupiter in Daytime, Venus Visits the Seven Sisters who Mark Maori New Year, and Hercules’ Highs!

This terrific image by Amir H. Abolfath shows a deep exposure of the sky surrounding the bright reddish star Antares, the heart of Scorpius, which shines over the southern horizon on late June evenings. Antares is within the bright orange region at lower left. To its right is the enormous globular star cluster Messier 4.…
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All Planets Apparent, Maori Matariki, the Moon in Morning, and Hercules on High!

The well-known Pleiades open star cluster (Messier 45) has long been the centre of indigenous star stories around the world, including South Pacific island groups. The Maori of New Zealand tie their new year to the appearance of the Pleiades in the pre-dawn sky during June/July. The area of sky shown here spans 2 degrees.…
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