Post on 02-Jan-2020
YOURMATARIKI
KETE
Learn about Matariki. How do you
find it in the sky and why is it important?
Includes a competition and pull-out
poster.
20
19P
RIM
AR
YE
DIT
ION
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?For many iwi, Matariki resets the
Māori lunar calendar (maramataka).
Calendars use the Moon to set
the months and the Sun to mark
the seasons.
The cycle of the Moon around Earth
(lunar cycle) doesn’t fit evenly into
the cycle of Earth around the Sun
(solar cycle). Each year, the Moon
cycle is around 11 days shorter than
the solar cycle, meaning that after
12 months there are still about
11 days until Earth returns to the same
position in its orbit around the Sun.
Stars can be used to reset the
calendar because they appear in the
same place at the same time every
year. When you see Matariki rising in
the north east at early dawn, you’ll
know the maramataka will soon be
reset and a new year begins again.
The Māori New Year begins
traditionally at the first crescent
Moon after the first appearance
of Matariki in the morning sky.
This occurs between early June
and the first week of July.
Matariki is
a cluster of
stars in the
constellation
Taurus. There
are about
a thousand
stars in
Matariki but
only some
can be seen
with the
naked eye.
MeropeUrurangi
Wind
AlcyoneMatariki
Eyes of Tāwhirimātea
ElectraWaipuna-ā-rangi
Wet weather and rain
Maia
WaitaSalt water
Atlas
WaitiFresh water
TaygetaTupu-ā-rangi
Sky tohunga
PleioneTupu-ā-nuku
Earth tohunga
MATARIKI – the eyes of TāwhirimāteaTāwhirimātea (Atua of the wind) is almost always watching over Papatūānuku (earth mother) as Matariki can be seen throughout most of the year. But then, just before mid-winter, Matariki hides behind Tamanuiterā
(the Sun), and we can no longer see these eyes looking down on us. This is when it is the coldest and darkest time of the year. When we can just see Matariki at sunrise, we know that the Sun will start staying in the sky for longer, the days will become warmer, and it is time to celebrate the festival of Matariki.
WHAT IS MATARIKI?
THE CLUSTER, ALSO KNOWN AS THE PLEIADES, IS
DOMINATED BY BLUE STARS WHICH ARE SCORCHING.
THEY ARE MUCH HOTTER THAN OUR SUN!
Puanga (Rigel) is used by some iwi to mark Māori New Year instead of Matariki.
TRADITIONALLY, MĀORI
BELIEVED THAT THE
BRIGHTER THE STARS WERE,
THE WARMER THE COMING
SEASON WOULD BE FOR
GROWING CROPS.
MATARIKI
TAUTORU
21
To find Matariki, look for
Orion’s belt.
1
Follow a line through the three stars of Tautoru
towards north and
you will see a small cluster of stars. You’ve found
Matariki!
2
Matariki is visible most of the year except in
late autumn when it is too close to the Sun.
In New Zealand it rises in the north-east and
sets in the north-west, travelling across the
northern sky in between. This movement,
as with all other stars, is not caused by the
stars themselves moving but by Earth turning,
making it appear to move across the sky.
Matariki appears further and further
away from the eastern horizon as
the year goes on until it sets again
– keep looking for it using this method.
AUCKLAND NORTH-EASTERN DAWN SKY
LATE JUNE / BEFORE SUNRISE
MATARIKIHOW TO FIND
PLEIADES
ORION’S BELT
PUANGARIGEL
DURING LATE JUNE 2019,
YOU WILL SPOT
BRIGHT VENUS
IN BETWEEN
ORION’S BELT
AND MATARIKI.
MATARIKI FROM
OUR SOLAR SYSTEM
URANUSWhērangi
SATURNRongo
MARSMatawhero
The Matariki star cluster becomes hidden for about a month
in early winter due to Earth’s changing perspective as it
orbits the Sun. The stars are hidden behind the Sun from
our point of view in the month of May, and appear
again in our morning sky in the month of June.
The stars in Matariki were
formed around 100 million years
ago – that’s only 1/50th the age of our Sun!
SUNTamanuiterā
Not to scale.
MERCURYApārangi
VENUSKōpū
NEPTUNETangaroa
EARTHPapatūānuku
The star cluster can be seen all around the
world, so it has many diff erent names, like:
The Pleiades Greece
The Seven Sisters Greece
Subaru Japan
The six wives of the six sages Tamil
Seven chickens Thailand
Matali’I Samoan
Astronomers call Matariki Messier45
THE SEVEN BRIGHTEST STARS ARE ALSO CALLED THE ‘SEVEN
SISTERS’. THEY ARE SISTERS BECAUSE OF THEIR CLOSE PROXIMITY
TO ONE ANOTHER, WHICH MAKES THEM A STAR CLUSTER.
ASTRONOMERS ESTIMATE
THE CLUSTER WILL SURVIVE
FOR ABOUT ANOTHER 250
MILLION YEARS BEFORE ALL
THE STARS DRIFT APART.
Matariki can be seen
from almost every single spot on Earth.
MOONMarama
JUPITERPareārau
STARDOME.ORG.NZ
ACTIVITIES
I THINK SPACE IS
beautiful +BIG. IT IS FILLED WITH
STARS, PLANETS,
GALAXIES AND
nebulae.
A G A L A X Y
I S M I L L I O N S O R B I L L I O N S
O F S T A R S , G A S A N D D U S T !
E A R T H I S I N T H E
M I L K Y W A Y G A L A X Y .
This activity can be scaled up or down. Explore your writing skills during the development of your digital artwork, experiment with various art supplies, or research facts on certain galaxies or nebulae to include in your work. We’ve simply given you a few ideas to get started but run wild with the project!
Matarikiand the Māori New Year is a special time for me.
It means FAMILY, friends, food and spending time together.
SPACE ART
YOU'LL NEED• Art supplies – either chalk pastels, paint
or crayons
• 1x construction card per student
• Images of nebula or galaxy as inspiration
• Access to computers or other technology
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Using either your imagination or real deep
space images as inspiration (we suggest
googling images like the Helix Nebula,
Pinwheel Galaxy or the Butterfly Nebula),
play with your art supplies to recreate
a galaxy or nebula on your card. We found
the best way to do this is with chalk pastels
because they smudge easily and blend
to mimic the colours we see in deep
space images.
2. Either smudge white chalk pastel dots
or tap the end of a small paintbrush
dipped in white paint across your image
to create star speckles.
3. Have your teacher scan or take a photo
of your artwork and upload the image
onto a computer or tablet.
4. Open the image in any application which
allows you to add text over the top of an
image. Think about what Matariki, space,
science or stars mean to you. Come up
with a quote, a poem or a fact about
any of these ideas.
5. Add your text and position it over
the top of your space artwork. Play
with design techniques you (or your
teacher) knows, such as font type,
size and colour, to enhance your artwork.
6. Print out your finalised digital artwork
and display it in the classroom to create
a class ‘Space Art’ wall.
Combine art, digital technology,
science and writing into one
hands-on fun activity.
CREATIVE CLUSTERThe Matariki cluster means something different for everyone. After all, its seen almost all around the globe so every culture relates to the stars differently. You will have learnt from this booklet that different cultures have various names for the cluster and link the seven stars to stories, legends or meanings.
Why are the stars clustered together? Astronomers know it’s because the stars were formed from the same gas and dust cloud. While the ancient Greeks didn’t know this at the time, their closeness to one another led them to name the cluster the Seven Sisters.
Get creative with your own story on how the seven stars became a cluster! You can use the information in this booklet, your own research, imagination and experience to get started.
HERE’S SOME IDEAS TO GET THINKING:
Timeline:
How long ago did the stars meet?
Location: Where did the
stars meet? In the night
sky, on Earth, on another
planet?
Characters: Do the
stars have personalities?
Names?
Storyteller: Are you telling
the story as one of the
stars OR are you watching
on from Earth?
Mood: Were the stars
happy/sad/excited/angry to be joined together in a
cluster?
A X C S E V E N S I S T E R S
K W E H L D J R A G I M J A S
A F L L J D S O C L A R N S X
T V E A S U R J O K C M Y T O
A D B A R R E Q R F I Y A R E
M C R U O A G B E H S A O O K
A T A S V B H G H I A Y Z N A
R T T O D A S V W E P L S O E
A C I U L D B Z A O L E P M L
M B O J S G K Y T A E U N Y O
C O N S T E L L A T I O N L R
A V S Q U K D B M U A O B E J
N D O P S C A L E N D A R W T
A Y C U J L M O A K E X E R P
A G N I Z A G R A T S G E V O
PLEIADES
MATAWHERO
CELEBRATIONS
MARAMATAKA
STARGAZING
TAURUS
CONSTELLATION
ASTRONOMY
CALENDAR
ALCYONE
SEVEN SISTERS
WORDFIND
Terms and conditions: One entry per person. All contact details must be completed to be eligible for entry. All entries must be received before 5pm on 31 August 2019. Judges decision is final.
NAME:
ADDRESS:
PHONE: AGE:
EMAIL:
SCHOOL:
COMPETITIONWhat do you think the Matariki stars look like up close? Send us your creation and you’ll be in the draw to WIN a $200 Prezzy Card!
SEND YOUR ENTRY TO: Matariki competition, Stardome, PO Box 24 180, Royal Oak, Auckland 1345STARDOME.ORG.NZ