Te Rangi

With Hokonui Fashion Design Awards – I just got recognised as one of their rising fans! 🎉

The Kāhui Whetū, a free community light show held at the Gore Māruawai Public Gardens last night 10 July 2016. Kōpū (Venus) was visible amongst the trees along with Regulus. Stowell gives Te Kakau as Regulus, the brightest star in the constellation Leo (reference Te Aka).

Comet C/2025 R3 (PanSTARRS) tonight 2 May 2026 at East Gore, Southland after sunset. Still quite faint though. However I was able to observe it with 10x50 binoculars.

I captured Comet C/2025 R3 (PanSTARRS) last night 30 April 2026 at East Gore, Southland after sunset. It was quite faint though. I used a vintage Pentax 50mm lens on my Canon EOS M100 camera body. Comet C/2025 R3 (PanSTARRS) is the greenish faint fuzzy “star” in the bottom right of the zoomed in image. A very faint tail can seen directed upwards and away from the coma and nucleus.

A new comet is now gracing our southern skies ☄️

Comet C/2025 R3 (PanSTARRS) has begun to make its appearance in the Southern Hemisphere after previously being visible in northern skies. While it’s not visible to the naked eye, this faint visitor has already been captured by astrophotographers across Aotearoa over the past few days. Over the coming weeks, the comet will climb higher into the western sky after sunset, but will gradually fade in brightness as it does.

Here’s how you can try to track it down in early May:

• Find a clear, unobstructed view of the western horizon - the comet is still sitting very low.
• Look about an hour after sunset for the best chance of spotting it.
• Bring binoculars, a telescope, or a camera; it’s unlikely to become visible to the naked eye.
• Use the bright star Puanga (Rigel) as your guide, with the comet drifting higher toward it over the coming week.

If you manage to capture it, be sure to send us your photos!

“The coloured side of Te Marama”

I took this photo this evening and maxed out on the saturation and vibrance when processing in Adobe Lightroom to reveal regions with different mineralogy. I used a vintage 200mm Pentax lens on a Canon EOS M100 body.

Tupuānuku is a Matariki star-themed sculpture located in Mandeville-Taylor Park, Southland, representing food that grows in the soil. Created by artist Steve Solomon as part of the Southland Matariki Wayfinding Journey, the, low-design pou features koru, lizards, and birds, reflecting its connection to Papatūānuku (Mother Earth).

Comet R3 (PanSTARRS) is now visible in the field of SOHO's LASCO C3 camera.

Image courtesy of NASA and ESA.

The Aurora is visible from Gore, Southland tonight. Photos taken with my iPhone 15, 10 second exposure around 8.00pm on 18 April 2026.

A sky full of stars ✨. While conducting their lunar fly-by of the Moon, the crew of Artemis II captured this breathtaking photo of our own Milky Way galaxy, showing the southern part of the celestial sky. The bright patch near the center is the Carina Nebula, while Mahutonga (Southern Cross) can be seen in the lower right side.