The primary feature of our winter night sky is the region of Scorpius and Sagittarius which passes overhead.
In these constellations we are looking towards the central bulge of our galaxy, the Milky Way.
Here there is a huge concentration of stars, so many than they are often referred to as "star clouds".
To the naked eye, the ghostly glow of these billions of stars is especially striking.
The iconic constellation, Crux (Southern Cross), is high above the southern horizon, significantly higher in the south of the country than in the north.
A waning gibbous moon. Photo / Jonathan Green
During the summer, the dominant constellations are Orion, Taurus and Leo in the northern part of the sky while looking south the two "Clouds of Magellan" are the highest they get.
The Magellanic Clouds were first described by the explorer, Ferdinand Magellan, early in the 16th Century.
They were, of course, very familiar to the indigenous peoples of the Southern Hemisphere.
A star trail taken at the Warkworth radio telescope. Photo / Jonathan Green
The Large and Small Magellanic Clouds are in fact two dwarf galaxies that look to the naked eye like small, detached pieces of Milky Way.
The best times for stargazing are when the moon is not throwing a lot of extra light into the sky.
Otherwise the night sky is amazing to explore guided by a simple star chart or an app on your mobile device.
You will soon start to recognise the major constellations, many named in antiquity.
Binoculars offer a cheap way to delve deeper.
Moonrise at Paikiri Beach. Photo / Jonathan Green
What are the closest and furthermost features in the night sky at this time of year?
Unless you count meteors (shooting stars), small bits of space rock that are burning up about 100km above us, the closest astronomical object will be the Moon.
The most distant things you can see with the naked eye are the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, two dwarf galaxies lying 160,000 and 210,000 light years away respectively.
Are there any significant astronomical occurrences happening over summer we're set to be treated to?
There are no eclipses of the Moon or the Sun visible from New Zealand.
A star trail taken over the Paikiri River, Auckland. Photo / Jonathan Green
The moon is close to Jupiter before dawn on January 19.
The moon is full on January 13 so that will tend to spoil stargazing somewhat around that date.
However the moon is out of the way from Christmas and through the first week of 2017.
Where in New Zealand are the best vantage spots to observe the night sky and why?
The best place to view the night sky is away from the light polluted skies of towns and cities.
The widest views are best seen from a boat but a beach or a mountain top can provide an excellent alternative.
A look at the southern Milky Way at Tongariro. Photo / Jonathan Green
There are slightly different views obtained from the far south and far north of the country.
In the far south, southern constellations are higher up and better seen, while the northern constellations like Gemini are closer to the horizon and not as well seen.
The converse holds for views from the north of the country.
Another important distinction is that in the far south, the nights are significantly shorter and you have to stay up longer before the sky gets truly dark.
Then again, you may be treated to an aurora.
A halo around the moon at Leigh, north of Auckland. Photo / Jonathan Green
We sometimes hear about efforts to create dark-sky reserves. What are these and why are they becoming more important?
With most people now living within towns and cities, huge numbers of artificial lights cast light into the sky and this makes all the fainter stars disappear.
The Milky Way is now hard to see within the larger cities.
Excess light in our environment is very detrimental to wildlife and the health of people.
The best solution is to adopt better light fittings, especially for street lights, designed so that their light is only directed down to the ground and is not excessive.
Unshielded lighting fixtures that cast light into the sky simply waste energy and money.
It is also important to create dark sky reserves, places accessible to people who want to see the our brilliant southern skies.
Most of the populated regions of the globe are now so light polluted than clear views of the cosmos are no longer possible.
How clear are New Zealand?s skies compared to other countries?
A star chart looking west at the summer night sky, for January 17, 2017. Image / Supplied
Not only do our skies provide the best views of the centre of the galaxy and the Magellanic Clouds, the levels of both light and industrial air pollution are lower than most countries.
Aotearoa is aptly named because it is a relatively cloudy land compared to some other places that have higher mountains and over 300 cloudless days each year.
What advice would you give to someone wanting to start out in hobby astronomy or astro-photography?
The best way is to join your local astronomical society.
This puts you in contact with the many Kiwis who also share your passion for space exploration and the night sky.
Digital imaging of the night sky has become a very popular activity and our country has some of the world's leading astrophotographers.
