Dark Sky Waiheke Island has had a busy 2024, working to clear the final hurdles in Waiheke’s application to be an official Dark Sky reserve and hopefully gain international recognition as a perfect stargazing spot.
It’s been a busy year ‘up there’ also, Dark Sky’s Kim Wesney says. On 11 May, a very rare geo-magnetic storm made the Aurora Australis, or Southern Lights, visible much further north than usual, bringing vibrant colour to Waiheke’s night sky. Amazingly, this happened twice more, on 8 and 11 October. “And in the middle of that, a beautiful pre-dawn visit from comet C/2023 A3 was visible above Palm Beach,” says Kim.
• Paul Mitchell
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© Waiheke Gulf News Ltd 2024
