A long exposure photo, taken at Cowans Hill, Tekapo, showing the motion of the stars over a 30-minute period. A small aurora is visible on the bottom
right-hand side. Credit: Alan Viles
with many more people observing the night sky. During my secondary school years, I have had the amazing experience of being an astronomy guide at The Dark Sky Project in the Aoraki Mackenzie Dark Sky Reserve in Tekapo (Takapō). I started by setting up the telescopes and watching tours to learn about the night sky and how to guide visitors. I moved on to talking, in depth, about specific objects when looking through a telescope. I then gave ‘naked eye tours’, lasting up to 40 minutes. I was able to experience remarkable sights, including rocket launches, shooting stars (meteors), and the Southern Lights or Aurora Australis – an incredible display of colourful light in the sky. The Southern Lights comes from an eruption of charged particles from the sun which travel towards Earth. These charged particles can be funnelled to the
magnetic poles by the Earth’s magnetic field. When the charged particles bump into the Earth's atmosphere, they cause it to glow. New Zealand sits quite far north compared to the south magnetic pole, so the aurora needs to be strong for us to see it. If the aurora is very strong or you are close to the magnetic pole, then you may be able to see some faint colour. Our eyes are not suited to seeing faint colour in dark situations so the best way to experience an aurora in New Zealand is with long exposure photography. While it helps to be as far south as possible, strong auroras can be seen – with photography – even as far away as Auckland. The sun goes through a solar cycle about every 11 years, with the next maximum about 2025, so the next few years will be ideal for viewing auroras. After working for the Dark Sky Project during summer, I started to study astronomy at the University of Canterbury through
the STAR programme in Year 13. I have been able to delve deeper into topics, such as galactic structure, exoplanet detection, and the history of astronomy. During King’s Birthday Weekend, I attended the Royal Astronomy New Zealand conference and was very fortunate to be awarded
the students with a passion for astronomy scholarship, sponsored by astronomer Michael Snowden.
It was a great experience and I learnt so much through all the talks and meeting amazing people. I was also invited to share my experience as an astronomy guide. Most importantly, I was immersed in a community of brilliant minds and passionate astronomers, finding myself surrounded by a wealth of knowledge and inspiration.
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