This article has been written and shared by Catherine Weepu, one of our KSS whānau

Tēnā tātou,

I thought I'd share some mātauranga/knowledge with you all. I know Matariki and Puaka (the Māori New Year) is still a while away, however it is a lot easier to learn how to find Matariki and Puaka now than it is during the winter celebrations.

Matariki is the Māori name for a cluster of stars also known as Pleiades. Puaka is the Māori name for Rigel. Matariki and Puaka are visible for 11 months of the year, disappearing in the lunar month of Haratua in May/June, and rising again around a month later, in the north-eastern skies, during the lunar month of Piripi. This usually occurs in late June or early July. It signals to Māori that the New Year will begin.

So, for those that are interested, read on and you might be able to see Matariki and Puaka and learn how to find it now, so when our New Year begins you will know what you are looking for. The reason it can be hard to find Matariki and Puaka during the Māori new year is because it rises and is in view on the horizon just before the sun and needs to be observed in the early morning but, as it rises just before the sun, the sun is close behind and its brightness makes the stars invisible to the human eye.

How to find Matariki and Puaka right now:

1. First look North/North West on a clear night at 9.30pm ish

2. Find Tautoru (well known as the bottom three stars of ‘the pot’, or Orion’s Belt)

3. To find Matariki, imagine a line connecting the dots of Tautoru (Orion's belt) and follow it left and downward to find the bright orange star, Taumata-kuku (Alderbaran). Keep following your imaginary line from Tautoru, across to Taumata-kuku and keep going about half the distance again until you hit a cluster of stars. That cluster is Matariki. I have attached an image that will hopefully be helpful.

4. To find Puaka look for the bright star named ‘Rigel’ in the picture. It sits directly above the middle star of tautoru.