Conservation Comment: Celebrating Matariki and Puanga

The Puanga night sky. Photo / supplied

On June 21, the winter solstice occurred in the Southern Hemisphere, when the sun reached its northern-most rising position, marking the shortest day and the longest night.

At this time of year, a small, beautiful group of stars is visible in the north-east before dawn. It is Matariki, the Pleiades. For a while, it appears just before the sun rises, until the glow of morning obscures all stars.

Each day, Matariki rises a few minutes earlier, making it easier to spot in the pre-dawn sky. To see Matariki in the morning sky at the moment, find the bright planet Venus, then look above it and slightly to the left, or north-east. To find Puanga, look due east, for the three stars of Tautoru (Orion's Belt), and go straight up to a single bright star. That's Puanga, or Rigel.

In Māori tradition throughout most of Aotearoa, the appearance of this tiny cluster of bright stars signals the new year. For Whanganui, Taranaki and some other iwi, the new year is signalled by the appearance of Puanga, or Rigel.

Puanga is much brighter than Matariki and is easier to see in the morning sky. If you want to see both Puanga and Matariki, choose a fine morning and find a spot with a clear view of the eastern sky, not obscured by trees, hills or streetlights. You may need to take a short trip up a nearby hill.

For Māori, the stars of Matariki were used to forecast environmental conditions for important seasonal activities. Sometimes the stars of Matariki look further apart from one another and are clearer and easier to see. Other times they appear more blurred, depending on the atmosphere.

People who have excellent eyesight may be able to see five, six, seven or even nine stars. For those with less acute vision, Matariki will appear as a small patch of light, with maybe the brightest star, which is Matariki, twinkling in the midst of the blur. With a pair of binoculars, most people will be able to see 10 to 12 stars in a group. A telescope will reveal many more, as there are over 500 stars in the cluster.

Matariki, or the Pleiades, can be seen throughout the globe and has been used by humans to mark seasons and directions for thousands of years. The cluster has many names, including the Pleiades, Seven Sisters, Subaru, and many others, with associated stories in each cultural tradition.

On June 24, we celebrated Māori New Year as a nation. It has become Aotearoa New Year, with a public holiday and a multitude of events happening all around the country. This is a wonderful opportunity for all of us, irrespective of our cultural backgrounds, to come together and celebrate our connection to the universe and to our natural environment.

And it's a great time of year for families and communities to improve our future environment by planting trees.