AstronomyNZ

Spring Morning Night Sky

By Richard Hall

The seasonal stars important to Maori were usually those that rose just before dawn. The charts simulate the morning night sky seen from a dark sky site well away from city lights. The entire sky appears to slowly revolve in a clockwise direction around the south celestial pole, which is at the centre of the closed fishhook shown on the southern chart.

The orientation of the stars is correct for the time of the Maori (first crescent) new moon on September 28th at 5:20am (42 minutes before sunrise), October 28th at 4:25am (1 hour 49 minutes before sunrise) and November 26th at 2:40am (3 hours 5 minutes before sunrise). There are two views of the night sky: one looking due south and the other due north.

To the north is Pou-tere-rangi (the floating post). The dawn rising of Whaka-ahu in the north-east marks the beginning of spring.