Non profit observatory on One Tree Hill. Features educational resources and details on planetarium shows.

The New Zealand Space Flight Association meetings are held on the third Wednesday of the month, Sharing Space - Paul Moss Astronomy in New Zealand.

On the summit of Mt John is the University of Canterbury's astronomical. Mt John was chosen as the best observatory site in New Zealand for many reasons.

During the clear night sky and as long as the city lights are not close or bright enough to interfere with your naked eye vision, it is always a good idea to grab a blanket and some candles and head to your house's roof or the nearest hill. Admiring the stars is not an exclusive activity kids are only allowed to perform, but it can be something you can share with them while introducing them to the unknown world of the universe.

For anyone looking for a hobby that is interesting, challenging, and free, allow me to introduce you to the world of stargazing. After the sun goes down, there’s a big, wondrous, fascinating universe up there. And contrary to popular opinion, you really don’t need a telescope to enjoy it. (More on telescopes later.) With nothing but your bare eyes, you can see stars, constellations, planets, clusters, meteors, the Milky Way, nebulae, our moon, and yes even a galaxy.

For many generations various human cultures have had great knowledge about the star constellations. However, these days most of the so-called modernized breed of human can’t tell you much about what’s around us in the infinite Universe. The funny thing is, technically we now know more about what’s there than ever before, we’ve even got photos. With the Hubble Telescope we now have access to the most unbelievable pictures imaginable: galaxies, nebulae and millions of stars close up.

2004 started a new era in planetary exploration. Two Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity landed successfully on the surface of Mars and a short while later started to send lots of images and other data. The rovers were designed to work properly for only 90 days on the Martian surface but, believe it or not, they are still in a good health and do not seem to stop working. During over 3-year period NASA has received a huge amount of data that are hard to present for the wider public.