Picture / John Fields              

This simple children’s rhyme tells an amazing story about humankind’s fascination with the gently sparkling objects in the sky that reveal themselves at night when the sky is clear.

This poem encapsulates many things that very early humans knew or believed about the night sky – that it was scattered with bright dots of light that couldn’t be seen when the sun was in the sky, and that some of these lights were brighter than others. It also reveals the mystical and supernatural qualities that people placed on these glowing specks – that these twinkling lights could somehow have an influence on our lives.

In ancient times the sky was seen in religious terms, with the sun and moon being gods that crossed the sky along with the bright, moving spots (planets) that didn’t twinkle like the other stars, but which shone with a steady light. To these gods the ancients gave names and personalities. Stories of intrigue and very human excesses surrounded these gods whose whims were responsible for all manner of catastrophe, from floods to impotency. Groups of stars became people and animals (like the hunter Orion and his two dogs), with those along the equatorial plane (the band that most of the planets travel along in our sky) becoming signs of the zodiac, supposedly moulding our personalities at birth.

As time passed, the study of the motion of the stars and the other glowing bits of flotsam and jetsam in the night sky became one of our oldest sciences, with the ancient civilization of Babylon (present day Iraq) being the first, around 4,500 years ago, to keep astronomical records. The Chinese also kept meticulous records of the appearance of comets and supernovas (exploding stars) which have been hugely helpful to modern astronomers in pinpointing past astronomical events. The first recorded sighting of Halley’s comet, whose orbit makes it visible to us every 76 years and which we last saw in 1986, was made by the Chinese in 240 BC. 

 The Stardome 

The Auckland Observatory and Planetarium – better known as the Stardome – is situated in One Tree Hill Domain with quick entry just off Manukau Road.

There are public shows in the planetarium almost every night that recreate the night sky beautifully, with viewing through the telescope afterwards, weather permitting. As well as these shows there are extra ones that often follow a theme – educational as well as fun – such as Celestial Navigation, which shows you how to navigate using only the sun and the stars, or SETI (the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence). 

Special shows run during the day in the school holidays, as well as the evenings, for the kids.

Andrew Buckingham at the observatory has Astronz Dobsonian telescopes on hand, which don’t have many bells or whistles but which give good quality, high magnification viewing.  Andrew says they are robust, easy to use, easy to move, set up and dismantle and also help beginners find their way around the sky as they don’t have expensive tracking, which teaches kids, especially, how to use star charts.                                      

There are also some wonderful astronomy programmes for computers, and Andrew stocks the shopwith what he believes to be the best available – the Starry Night collection.

The Auckland Observatory and Planetarium – better known as the Stardome – is situated in One Tree Hill Domain with quick entry just off Manukau Road.

 As if that wasn’t enough, they also cater for events from kids’ birthday parties to corporate functions.

www.stardome.org.nz

When looking to buy a telescope you basically get what you pay for. A good pair of binoculars is a much better option than a small telescope of the same price. While one is an optical instrument, the other is basically a toy. In the world of telescopes big is definitely better – the bigger the magnification, the more you will see.

At the Carter Observatory and the Stardome the biggest seller is the 8" aperture (the width of the aperture) Astronz that sells for around $800. An Astronz with 12" aperture costs around $1800.

For an 8" model with more features you’ll probably pay around $1200 but it can be much more. The extra cost is for some sophisticated extras such as equatorial mounts, which make it easier to track objects as the earth rotates. (The earth is slowly spinning in space and so the moon, planets and stars will move fairly quickly out of vision under a high magnification.) Special mounts make it easier to track objects manually and a computerised tracking system is even easier, but these all come at a price. Shop around.

Something else to consider is how cumbersome a telescope is to move and set up. It will probably relate a lot to how often you’re going to use it, especially as a beginner.