Twinkle Dark Sky Tours

03/03/2026

Clear skies on Stewart Island!

03/03/2026

Don't miss! The next one is two years away.

Tonight's lunar eclipse will start around 11pm and the Moon will get progressively darker and redder until 12.30am, which is the height of the eclipse. The weather on Rakiura isn't terrible at the moment so fingers crossed for tonight!

New Zealand has the "best seat in the world" to view it - so when can you see it and how?

03/03/2026

This is a great explanation from Te Whatu Stardome about why the current stories about a 'Planetary Parade!' are essentially clickbait:

There’s been a bit of online buzz about a “rare planetary parade” of six planets in the sky this evening. So how can we see it, and why haven’t we posted about it yet? Unfortunately, for us, we can’t really see it.

Reports about this so-called ‘rare’ astronomical alignment aren’t entirely accurate and don’t take into account the realities of stargazing with the naked eye, especially from the southern hemisphere. Technically, yes, six planets will be above the horizon right after sunset tonight and over the next few days. Realistically, however, you’ll only be able to see one of them.

Mercury and Venus are sitting extremely low in the western sky for us in the southern hemisphere and are effectively lost in the Sun’s glare. The ice giants, Uranus and Neptune, require telescopes to observe and cannot be seen with the naked eye, so they’re out of the equation. You may be able to glimpse Saturn very low in the west after sunset, but it will be challenging, as it’s only slightly higher than Mercury or Venus before it sets. That leaves Jupiter as the only planet easily visible to the naked eye in our evening skies right now. Tonight, it will appear right above the Moon, which is still a fantastic sight and well worth looking out for.

Most articles about ‘rare’ astronomical events are written from a northern hemisphere perspective, which doesn’t always apply to us. They also often overlook the important distinction between a planet being above the horizon and actually being visible.

Whenever there’s something truly special to see in our southern skies, we’ll always share accurate, practical information on how and when to catch it. If you’d like to stay up to date with what’s happening overhead, check out our monthly video series, The Southern Night Sky, where we cover all the upcoming highlights from our perspective. The March video will be out this Sunday!

26/02/2026

Talk tonight at the Rakiura museum at 7.30pm!

Dr. Samantha Lawler - all the way from Canada 🇨🇦

06/11/2025

Sometimes on our tours we see Aurora. We sometimes see kiwi too.

Both on the same night has never happened before...

(we also saw some stars, planets, nebulae and galaxies!)

21/09/2025

We saw it! 🌙

Thank you to everyone who came down to have a look. Thank you especially to the Stewart Island Lions club for organising the BBQ. It looks like we raised around $400 for the Early Learning Centre, which is great!

21/09/2025

It's this seasons fresh new look - eclipse glasses! 😎

If you want to try before you buy we'll have 10 pairs to use at the waterfront in Oban at 6.30am tomorrow for viewing the partial eclipse (plus a solar telescope).

Come along and look as cool as me, plus grab a bacon sandwich for breakfast! 🥪

07/09/2025

The forecast is looking good for anyone on Stewart Island wishing to see the 'blood moon' or total lunar eclipse tomorrow morning 🌙

Prime viewing time is 5am-6.30am Monday

07/09/2025

Attention all early birds! 🐦 🌖 Set your alarm for 5am tomorrow morning 😴

If you look up to the sky early on Monday morning you may be greeted by a red hue over the moon.

Find out more below 🔗

22/05/2025

Reminder: there's a FREE astronomy talk on AI in Astronomy from Prof. Anna Scaife right at 7 at the RSA Pavilion on Rakiura.

We'll bring along our telescope for anyone attending who wants to have a look at the stars afterwards (weather permitting). See you there!

19/10/2024

We are excited to be on our way to the New Zealand Starlight Conference with our newest little star 🌠 Arthur 🌠‼️