US EditionMatariki Events Bring Art, Culture, and Celebration to Northland
- Aotearoa New Zealand officially celebrated Matariki, the Māori New Year marked by the Pleiades star cluster, for the fourth time this week.
- The celebration follows legislation recognizing Matariki's cultural importance but misses protections for dark skies crucial to seeing the star cluster.
- Matariki festivities across several cities include illuminated artworks, lightboxes, drone light shows, and community events offering cultural performances and reflection.
- Approximately 74% of the North Island features mostly untouched night skies; however, due to heavy urbanization, just a small fraction—around 3%—of people frequently have the opportunity to observe truly dark skies, with star visibility declining by 7-10% annually.
- Despite a January 2023 petition for dark sky legislation, parliament declined further action by March, highlighting ongoing challenges to protect night skies amid urbanization and satellite proliferation.
13 Articles
13 Articles
Public Opinion: Meaning of Matariki
Robert Picot, Callum Morriss, and Naomi Thoms. Times photos PJ Taylor Matariki is a relatively new public holiday that’s been generally welcomed favourably by Kiwis. It’s not only just a day off work and school, as PJ TAYLOR discovered when asking around Howick Village Market: What does Matariki mean to you? Robert Picot, of Howick “It’s a mid-year time of renewal and reflection, a new opportunity to celebrate Māori culture. How many public holi…
Event noticeboard: Matariki everywhere
The Spinoff’s top picks of Matariki events from around the motu. “Cbk to get up nice and early for this !!” It was Tuesday evening when the wheels of organisation in my friend’s brain started turning. It was chilly, but I was sweating from a particularly hard gym class, fatigued, and therefore an easy target. I did not think too much about how watching the sunrise after certain processes like parking and shuttles necessary to big gatherings, mea…
Matariki And Our Diminishing Night Sky: Light Pollution From Cities And Satellites Is Making Stars ...
About half of all New Zealanders can no longer see the Milky Way in winter due to light pollution from ever brighter cities and expanding satellite constellations. ...
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 75% of the sources are Center
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
