Earth & Sky Ltd., P.O. Box 112, Lake Tekapo 7945, New Zealand.   E-mail: info@earthandsky.co.nz
Phone: +64 (0)3 6806960   Fax: +64 (0)3 6806950

What's Up in Tekapo?!
Quick pick >>  Iridium Flares  :  Satellites  :  The Moon & Planets  :  The Starry Sky  :  Q & A
(Note: this feature requires pop-up windows to be enabled in your web browser.)	Obtain predictions of what's happening in Tekapo, or your sky wherever you live in the world!
You may also find news of interesting objects to see at our Twitter page.

Iridium Flares
Have you ever been startled to see what looks like a new star suddenly surge in brightness, only to fade away a few seconds later? If so, chances are you've seen a so-called Iridium flare, caused by sunlight glinting off one of three highly polished door-sized antennas attached to a satellite of the orbiting Iridium communication network (artist's impression left).

Tekapo-based flare watchers have several events to see over the coming week (weather permitting). In conjunction with Heavens Above, we can now provide you with customised interactive viewing predictions for the next seven days — see at a glance when and where in the sky the brightest flares occur and where you need to be to see them at their best. To find out more just click here, or visit our Twitter page for news of the brighter events.

Satellites
If you study the sky carefully any clear night you'll invariably see an artificial satellite or two orbiting the Earth, having the appearance of a faint star moving slowly against the true starry background. (These are not to be confused with meteors, or shooting stars, which flash across the sky in a fraction of a second.) The largest and brightest artificial satellite is the International Space Station (pictured right from a recent Space Shuttle mission).

For customised viewing details of the International Space Station, Space Shuttle (when in orbit) and Hubble Space Telescope for any location worldwide, please click here. (Note: this feature requires pop-up windows to be enabled in your web browser.)

The Moon & Planets
Wednesday, March 10th sees the 24-day-old waning crescent Moon amid the constellation of Sagittarius, rising well after midnight as seen from Tekapo. Mars is the bright orange 'star' low to the north by 11 pm. The planet is now receding from the Earth and lies some 125 million kilometres distant in the direction of constellation Cancer. Glorious ringed planet Saturn — a telescopic favourite during our Star Tours — is now visible low to the east soon after 9 pm against the constellation backdrop of Virgo.

The Starry Sky
Cast your gaze low to the southeast horizon as darkness falls and you will find Crux, the smallest of the eighty-eight constellations in the entire sky, more popularly known as the Southern Cross. Many people expect this iconic southern constellation to be much bigger, but in reality your clenched fist held at arm's length will easily cover it! (See star chart right.)

If you're not sure which four stars comprise the Southern Cross, locate bright stars Alpha Centauri (the nearest naked-eye nighttime star at a distance of 4.3 light-years) and Beta Centauri that lie just under a span of an outstretched hand at arm's length to the lower right of Crux which act as the so-called Pointer Stars to the diminutive constellation.

The Southern Cross is set against the backdrop of our Galaxy, or the Milky Way, the diffuse band of light composed of thousands of millions of stars that arches overhead from southeast to northwest, best seen on dark, moonless nights. The entire region is rich in star clusters, nebulae and other memorable sights in a pair of binoculars or a telescope.

The object labelled as NGC 5139 on the chart is more popularly known as Omega Centauri — a spectacular globular cluster of 4 million stars some 16,000 light-years away. Don’t miss it on one of our stargazing tours, particularly on moonless nights!

Dominating the view to the northwest after dark is the immediately recognisable constellation of Orion, the Hunter, and his celestial retinue. Orion is one of those star groups that straddles the celestial equator and is visible from every inhabited place on Earth. (See star chart left.)

The constellation is readily identified owing to the three stars in a line that represent Orion's Belt — to give you a sense of scale, the three stars span about half the length of your thumb held at arm's length.

The Orion Nebula is a vast star-forming region some 1300 light-years distant that shows a wealth of detail in our telescopes; it frequently appears in our online Gallery.

Extend the line of Orion’s Belt down and to the left by the span of an outstretched hand at arm's length and you will find red giant star Aldebaran, 40 times the Sun's diameter and 65 light-years distant. Aldebaran is Arabic for "the follower", since it follows the Pleiades star cluster across the sky.

Extend the line of Orion's Belt a span of an outstretched hand at arm's length up and to the right and you will encounter the night sky's brightest star, Sirius. Some 8.6 light-years distant, this star is approximately twice the mass of the Sun and 25 times its luminosity.

Would you like to find out more about these objects and a multitude of other Southern Hemisphere celestial wonders? If so, then please join any one of our stargazing tours at Mount John or Cowan's Hill — we'd be delighted to show you!

Q & A
Do you have a question about the stars, Sun, Moon or planets that you've always puzzled over? Our Guides may not have answers to "Life, the Universe and Everything", a phrase coined by the late great Douglas Adams, but they're knowledgeable and will do their best to resolve questions posed in the box below! Once you're typed your question (please include your e-mail address), press the submit button to send it to us:

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