OUR RIKI E - Stardome · Which planet is known in Māori as Matawhero? Matariki is commonly known as what? The star called Electra has what meaning? Which constellation is Matariki

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

18P

RIM

AR

YE

DIT

ION

WHAT IS MATARIKI?

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?

For some 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 is 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

east at early dawn, you’ll know the maramataka

has been reset and a new year begins again.

The Māori New Year is traditionally celebrated

at the first crescent Moon after the first

appearance of Matariki in the morning sky.

This occurs between early and late June

and this year is on the 15th June.

Matariki is a cluster of stars

in the constellation Taurus.

There are about a thousand

stars in Matariki but

only seven can be

seen with the naked eye.

The Matariki

festival starts at

the first crescent

Moon after

Matariki has risen

For some iwi, the reappearance of Matariki in the pre-dawn sky

signals the start of the Māori New

Year, Ngā mihi o te Tau Hou!

MATARIKI FACTS

The star cluster can be seen all

around the world, so it has lots

of different 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.

MĀORI NAMES OF PLANETS

NeptuneTangaroa

UranusWhērangi

SaturnRongo

JupiterPareārau

EarthPapatūānuku

MarsMatawhero

VenusKōpūMercury

Apārangi

• Milky Way Mangōroa• Orion Tautoru• Sun Tamanuiterā

PLUS

MATARIKI

ORION’S BELT

21

To find Matariki, look for

Orion’s belt – Tautoru

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 northeast and sets in the

northwest, 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

25 JUNE 2018 / 6:30AM

MATARIKIHOW TO FIND

The

seven

brig

htes

t st

ars are als

o called the

‘Se

n Si

CLASSROOM

RESOURCE

Matariki is in

the cons

tellatio

n

of Taurus.

IT C

ON

TA

INS

AB

OU

T A

TH

OU

SA

ND

STA

RS

, B

UT

ON

LY S

OM

E A

RE

VIS

IBL

E W

ITH

TH

E U

NA

IDE

D E

YE

.

Tra

dit

ion

ally, M

āo

ri

believed

th

at

the b

rig

hte

r

the s

tars

were

, th

e w

arm

er

the c

om

ing

seaso

n w

ou

ld

be f

or

gro

win

g c

rop

s.

Th

e s

tars

in

M

ata

riki w

ere

fo

rmed

aro

un

d

100

millio

n y

ears

ag

o –

th

at’

s

on

ly 1

/50

th

the a

ge o

f

Me

rop

eUru

rangi

Entry to the heavens

Alc

yo

ne

Mata

riki

Small eyes

Ele

ctr

aW

aipuna-ā

-rangi

Sky spring

Maia

Waita

Sprinkle of water

Atl

as

Waiti

Sweetw

ater

Tayg

eta

Tupu-ā

-rangi

Sky tohunga

Ple

ion

eTupu-ā

-nuku

Earth tohunga

ight

dthe

‘Seven

Sisters’. The

y are sisters be

caus

e they

are po

sitio

ned clo

se to

one

ano

ther

and

were

form

ed from

the

sam

e gas and du

st cloud

!

STARDOME.O

RG.N

Z09 624 1246

Astron

omers es

timate

the clu

ster

will su

rvive

for a

bout

ano

ther

25

0 million

years

before

all the

stars

drift ap

art.

MA

TA

RIK

I

CA

N B

E

SE

EN

FR

OM

A

LM

OST

EV

ER

Y

SIN

GLE

SP

OT

O

N E

AR

TH

.

MATAR

IKI

TH

E C

LU

ST

ER

, A

LS

O K

NO

WN

AS

TH

E P

LE

IAD

ES

, IS

DO

MIN

AT

ED

BY

BLU

E S

TA

RS

WH

ICH

AR

E S

CO

RC

HIN

G.

TH

EY

AR

E M

UC

H H

OT

TE

R T

HA

N O

UR

SU

N!

the a

ge o

f

ou

r S

un

!

ACTIVITIES

Decorate more than one feather each to make your class cloak even bigger.

CREATE A CLASSROOM

CLOAK

YOU'LL NEED• A4 paper or card (coloured or white) per

student

• Colouring pens, paint, feathers, glitter,

decorating items…anything crafty you have

available

• 2 metres of black and red wool, streamers or

string

• A3 thick card

• Tape or glue

INSTRUCTIONS1. Cut out a feather shape from your

A4 paper.

2. Using the information about Matariki

that you have learnt so far, decorate

your feather with what Matariki

means you. This could be what you

think the stars look like, symbols

or Māori traditions around Matariki.

3. As a class, cut the A3 card into

thick strips and stick together at

the ends to create approximately

a one metre ‘band’.

4. Stick a row of feathers to the

band, by gluing or taping the

top 1cm of the feather to the

bottom, underside of the band.

5. Arrange another row of feathers under

the top row, by taping their top 1cm to the

bottom 1cm of the feather above. Continue

this until you have several rows of feathers.

6. Braid together the streamers or wool

and stick this to the top of your

classroom band.

7. Hang your class cloak on the wall

or take turns wearing it.

Think about what Matariki

means to you and put your

ideas together as a class

possible activities

LAST YEAR• maze

• crossword• word search

• baking

MYSTERY PUZZLE

What do astronomers call Matariki?

What is Matariki known as in Japan?

The Matariki cluster is dominated by what coloured stars?

Each year, how many days shorter is the lunar cycle than the solar cycle?

The Māori word for Neptune is what?

The Māori word for Sun is what?

How many stars are in the Matariki Cluster that we can see with our eyes?

Which planet is known in Māori as Matawhero?

Matariki is commonly known as what?

The star called Electra has what meaning?

Which constellation is Matariki part of?

Using your booklet, answer the questions in the boxes. Once you have all the answers, move the letters in the shaded boxes, in order, into the mystery word box. Then flick through your booklet again to find out what the mystery word means. Happy puzzling!

This word means...

The hidden word is...

Matariki is an open star

cluster. More than 1,100 open clusters

have been discovered within the Milky Way

Galaxy, and many more are thought

to exist!

MATARIKI

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 2018. Judges decision is final.

NAME:

ADDRESS:

PHONE: AGE:

EMAIL:

SCHOOL:

COMPETITIONWhat do you think the Matariki stars look like up close? Make your own Matariki star and send it in to be in the draw to WIN an ipod touch!

SEND YOUR ENTRY TO: Matariki colouring competition, Stardome, PO Box 24 180, Royal Oak, Auckland 1345STARDOME.ORG.NZ