Staying up late next week may be rewarded with a total lunar eclipse in our skies – the sole occurrence of the phenomenon this year.
New Zealand
12:18pm
April is now the earliest that the four Artemis II astronauts could fly to the moon.
World
Sunday 1:30pm
The council passed new lighting rules in 2024, which led to the district obtaining international dark sky sanctuary status that September.
Wed, Feb 18
The former president set social media alight when he said he believed aliens were "real", but had to clarify he had never seen them.
Tue, Feb 17
The first Artemis moonshot with a crew is now targeted for no earlier than February 8, two days later than planned.
Sat, Jan 31
The vivid meteor lit up skies from Wellington to Nelson, with dashcams capturing the moment it streaked overhead just before midnight.
Stargazers captured vivid pinks, greens and purples overnight as an S4 solar radiation storm delivered an auroral display.
Wed, Jan 21
What will we see in the southern sky in 2026?
Wed, Jan 7
It turns out there’s a scientific reason your phone can’t snap a good shot of the moon, even on the brightest, clearest nights.
Life
Fri, Jan 2
The Geminids meteor shower is the real deal: far and away the best of the year.
Environment
December 14, 2025
Christchurch photographer Tom Rae said witnessing the astronomical phenomenon event was "one of the most incredible things that I've ever seen in my life".
November 4, 2025
What people are likely seeing is commonly known as a space jellyfish, which is a phenomenon that can happen when sunlight reflects off the exhaust plume from the rocket's engines.
October 15, 2025
The eclipse began before sunrise and reached its peak around 7am.
September 22, 2025
The partial solar eclipse will begin before sunrise and reach its peak around 7am, with the moon covering up to 70% of the sun in parts of the lower South Island.
Kiwis will see between 60% of the sun covered in Auckland and up to 72% in Invercargill, with the eclipse visible nationwide at sunrise — weather permitting.
September 19, 2025
A total lunar eclipse is set to take place tomorrow morning, the first of two rare astronomical events happening this month in New Zealand.
September 7, 2025
A total lunar eclipse will take place on Monday morning, followed by a rare partial solar eclipse on September 22.
September 5, 2025
Stardome says the phenomenon is likely to set off a moderate to strong geomagnetic storm.
September 2, 2025
This new-moon rarity clears the sky of moonlight, making it an excellent time for stargazers.
August 23, 2025
The director of the Vatican's astronomical observatory has talked up the value of "dark-sky" sanctuaries, ahead of a trip to visit to a sanctuary near Lake Tekapo.
August 10, 2025
Solar storms that can bring down global power grids, telecommunications and GPS are extremely hard to predict.
July 16, 2025
Sotheby's auctioning what's known as NWA 16788 on Wednesday as part of a natural history-themed sale.
July 13, 2025
No. 62 Squadron — which supported allied efforts in the war through radar technology — has a new mission after more than 80 dormant years.
July 4, 2025
MetService meteorologist Heather Keats said there would be "quite a bit of cloud cover", but said the best time to gaze skyward was early in the morning.
Te Ao Māori
June 19, 2025
The phenomenon was visible as far north as Auckland last night, but it will be our southernmost residents who get the best view again on Monday.
June 2, 2025
