Planetarium of the South · 36.8°S
The night is open
Nocturne is an observatory for unhurried looking. Above you: eleven hundred stars, drawn live. Move your hand among them — they will gather. Click, and one will fall.
Move pointer to attract · click for a meteor
Ephemeris
The sky, tonight
18:42Venus sets the evening star withdrawsmag −4.1 · W 19:58Matariki rises the year turnscluster · NE 21:14Saturn at opposition rings at full tiltmag +0.4 · E 23:07The Galactic Core transits the river overheadzenith 02:31A thin moon 4% illuminated, ash-greymag −5.9 · NEAtlas
Constellations of the southern sky
Crux
Te Punga — the anchor
Four stars that hold the Milky Way's canoe against the current of the sky. The smallest constellation; the heaviest job.
Scorpius
Te Matau a Māui — the fish-hook
To Greece, a scorpion; to the Pacific, the hook that pulled an island from the sea. Same stars, better story.
Matariki
The eyes of the god
A cluster of nine, risen each June to open the Māori new year. Count them on a clear night; your total is a weather forecast.
“We do not look up to feel small. We look up to remember the room is bigger than the argument.”Nocturne — founding note
Visit
Doors open at dusk
Sessions
Nightly, dusk til late.
Cloudy nights: the dome lies for you.
The Dome
11-metre horizon,
heated seats, no phones, one sky.
Coordinates
36.8509°S, 174.7645°E
One Tree Hill, Tāmaki Makaurau.
Admission
Pay what the sky is worth.
Children who ask questions: free.