Southern Nights

by Naomi Arnold

Meet the night sky, down under

Aotearoa New Zealand was founded on stargazing. It was celestial navigation that brought the first people here, and it was tatai arorangi, Maori astronomy, that helped people survive once they arrived. There is no better place on Earth to view the brilliance of other worlds.

Covering eclipses, aurorae, comets and constellations, backyard observatories, traditional stargazers and world-class astrophotographers, this is the unique story of Te Whanau Marama, our family of light - the night sky that glows above us all.

Genres: Nonfiction

288 pages, Hardcover

Published January 19, 2021

About the author

Naomi Arnold is an award-winning journalist based in Nelson, New Zealand.

Reviews

[Heather Bassett · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think I need to add more non-fiction to my reading this year. This is very readable, informative, and inspiring with fantastic photographs - plus while checking out what I could see in the night sky while reading it - I saw a shooting star last night!

[Ellen Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 - super interesting learning about the history of tātai arorangi - I am in complete awe at the level of skills and knowledge needed for traditional ocean navigation.
I also loved learning about how rewarding the southern hemisphere sky is for astronomy.

Oh, and the photos are such a visual treat, you’ll fall in love with space.

I’m only giving it 3.5 because it sometimes felt like I was reading a textbook, but that’s more to do with me than the book.

[John Knipe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it