Tauranga Astronomical Society

ISS Alert! 6:16pm Sunday 14 June 2026
Heads up! The International Space Station (ISS) will be visible from throughout New Zealand tonight (weather permitting) from around 6:16pm, rising in the Northwest before it travels across the central North Island from Waikato, over Taupo to Hawkes Bay and beyond.

At 6:21pm, ISS will disappear into the shadow cast by the Earth.

This will be a very bright pass for all observers (particularly in the North Island) and a great opportunity to get the kids outside to watch a real "spaceship" with 7 astronauts onboard going over.

Please refer to the map for the direction you will need to look as seen from your location.

ISS travels around the Earth once every 93 minutes, travelling at a speed of 27,600 km per hour. It is approx 420 km above the Earth. There are currently 7 astronauts onboard the ISS.

You might want to set a reminder alarm on your phone. 🙂

The map shown here is from the Heavens-Above website:
https://heavens-above.com/

Night Kiwi photography at Fieldays.
If you are visiting Fieldays at Mystery Creek, be sure to check out TAS member Dan's Night Kiwi gallery at site K38. Dan has an amazing selection of canvas prints of his award winning astrophotography, scenery and wildlife.

Fieldays Site Map: https://www.fieldays.co.nz/exhibit-at-fieldays/prospectus/site-specifications-map

Free Live Presentation 7:30pm tonight Wednesday 27 May
"Chasing the Invisible: From Icelandic Auroras to Southern Skies"

Astrophotographer Grant Birley (one of our guest speakers) will be giving a talk on his astrophotography this evening (Wednesday) at 7:30pm. It will be live on Zoom. This presentation is being hosted by the LensLife Group.

"I’ll be covering our Iceland trip, what I’ve been getting up to since my last talk with the crew last year and delving into a few technical aspects of my photography journey. "

The LensLife Group (or LensLife Community) is a popular New Zealand based photography community and education network. Founded by Coni Flores, if offers courses, workshops, and a supportive membership for photographers to learn skills, build portfolios and to connect with peers.

Zoom link:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89636711265?pwd=FJLJNdbbvH7frIjUHYJ8nzBa8kFNim.1

A reminder that we have a meeting tonight Tuesday 26 May at 7:30pm. Please see the post below for full details. We hope to see you there! :)

Coming up at our next meeting on Tuesday 26 May at 7:30pm...

• TAS member Marcus Spranger will present "Exploring the Southern Sky - The Large Magellanic Cloud". The Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) is the galaxy with the largest apparent size in the sky
that is not our own galaxy. This makes it a great object to observe even with modest equipment, but professional astronomy has a close eye on the LMC too, because it allows them to study massive star forming regions, clusters of supermassive stars, and interactions between galaxies. Recent research also showed that the LMC will probably decide the fate of our own galaxy.
• TAS member Jim Thomas will demonstrate how to set up our 8" Meade LX90 telescope.
• A selection of other interesting videos and live presentations.
• Weather permitting, telescope viewing of the Moon, Jupiter, star clusters and other deep sky objects may be possible.

At around 8:20pm, we will have a 10 minute break. Tea / coffee / Milo and biscuits are available for $2. The main meeting usually ends at around 9pm. Families with young children may choose to leave during or after the break if needed. If the sky is clear, telescope viewing may continue on after 9pm for those remaining.

Admission is $5.00 for visitors (free for members). School age children are free. Please note that there is NO EFTPOS available, so cash or bank transfer please.

Optional 12 Month membership is $50.00 for individuals, $65.00 for families, or $25.00 for tertiary students. This gives you free entry to any of our meetings and viewing nights, access to our loan telescopes (a hire fee and bond may apply) and access to our extensive library.

Check out our extensive range of TAS caps, beanies, polo and tee shirts, hoodies and jackets. They make great gifts for astronomy enthusiasts of all ages!

The Tauranga Astronomical Society observatory is located in the Otumoetai Sport & Recreation Club building in Fergusson Park, end of Tilby Drive, Matua, Otumoetai, Tauranga.

** Please check back on our page before the meeting in case of cancellation due to bad weather or illness etc **

Are you interested in learning how to use our telescopes and becoming part of our team to help with our viewing nights? Come along! We would love for you to join us!

Our regular public meetings are held on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of each month (March to November) at 7:30 pm. Presentations are given on current astronomical topics. All those interested in astronomy in the Bay of Plenty district are invited to attend.

See you there! 🙂

Astronomy 101 - 7pm Tonight Saturday 23 May at TAS.
UPDATE: We are going ahead with Astronomy 101 and our displays at least and hopefully the sky will clear enough for viewing the Moon
Although it looks like telescope viewing may not be possible tonight, a number of people are still interested in bringing their families along to our fun and interactive indoor Astronomy 101 program so we are going to go ahead and open at 7pm tonight. Hopefully the sky might clear enough later to allow for telescope viewing of the Moon. Please see the post below for full details. Please let us know if you would like to come along.

3:45pm update - TELESCOPE VIEWING PROBABLY CANCELLED BUT....

If enough people would still like to bring the kids along for our fun and interactive indoor "Astronomy 101" program inside the hall, we could still go ahead. Koha / donations welcome to help with the running costs. Please let us know if you would like to come along even if there is no viewing through the telescopes. Another update will be posted no later than 5pm.

3:30pm update - VIEWING PROBABLY CANCELLED BUT....

If enough people would still like to bring the kids along tonight for our fun and interactive indoor "Astronomy 101" program inside the hall, we could still go ahead. Koha / donations welcome to help with the running costs. Please let us know if you would like to come along even if there is no viewing through the telescopes.