This weekend is a celebration of the Dark Sky Reserve at Mt John in Tekapo. The celebrations will be held at Mt John but also at Twizel and Mt Cook which are all in the Mackenzie country in the South Island. Mt John has the University of Canterbury telescopes for observing the night sky. Astronomers come from all over the world come to use these telescopes. Mt John is the first international Dark Sky Reserve in the Southern Hemisphere. The town of Tekapo is careful not to show too much light – all the street lights shine downwards.
This year is the international year of light. This year there is a focus on all science connected with light and that includes the sky above us. The main themes for this festival will be education and learning about stars, space and the environment, especially light pollution. Most of the events are suitable for families. There will be star gazing and a chance to build a small telescope called a Gallileoscope.
One of the guests is Professor Chris Lintott, who is Professor of Astronomy at the University of Oxford, UK. He is the main presenter of the BBC’s ‘Sky at Night’ programme. Another famous guest is Dr Seth Shostak, from the SETI Institute in Mountain View, California. He is well known for his interest in the search for extra-terrestrial intelligence.
There will be dance and music as well as talks and opportunities for looking at stars. New Zealand composer, Anthony Ritchie, has composed a piece of music called “Starlight”.
Lake Tekapo is not only a beautiful lake, very close to Mt Cook, it is also well known for the Mt John observatory. Tourists visiting the area should take a stargazing tour.
Vocabulary
• reserve (n) – protected area
• astronomers (n) – scientists who study stars and solar systems
• extra-terrestrial (adj) – life in other solar systems
• observatory (n) – place with telescopes
• stargazing (n, adj) – looking at stars