Notes

the story of New Zealand's night sky from the southern lights to the Milky Way
Naomi Arnold.
287 pages
colour illustrations.
Contents: Understanding the Universe. The oldest science ; Patterns in the night sky ; Guiding lights ; Signs and wonders ; The stars down under -- The age of discovery. Lighting the way ; Māori astronomy ; Voyage to a new sky -- Early New Zealand astronomy. 'What use is astronomy?' ; The first observatories ; Celestial highlights ; Great communicators ; The allure of variable stars ; Towards a national observatory -- The view from here. Eyes on the sky ; 'Our lady astronomers' ; Sparking interest ; Seeing clearly.
Summary: Meet the night sky, down under. Aotearoa New Zealand was founded on stargazing. It was celestial navigation that brought the first people here, and it was tatai arorangi, Maori astronomy, that helped people survive once they arrived. There is no better place on Earth to view the brilliance of other worlds. Covering eclipses, aurorae, comets and constellations, backyard observatories, traditional stargazers and world-class astrophotographers, this is the unique story of Te Whanau Marama, our family of light - the night sky that glows above us all.