The Milky Way over Upper Moutere

This photo of the Milky Way was taken at Upper Moutere. Back in the early 1960s, the University of Pennsylvania surveyed several sites in the South Island to see if they were suitable for establishing an observatory. Away from the main towns, the Tasman District has very little in the way of light pollution, and Mount Malita (960 m) in the Mount Richmond Forest Park was a candidate before Mount John (1029 m), near Lake Tekapo, was finally selected. Eventually the American university partnered with the University of Canterbury in establishing the Mount John Observatory, and a dark-sky preserve was established around the observatory in 2012. The reason the Mount Malita site was rejected? Too much rain. While the Tasman District is certainly wetter than the Mackenzie country, there are still plenty of clear, dark nights that make it possible to enjoy the glories of the southern hemisphere’s skies.