Latest news with #Aoraki
Otago Daily Times
14-05-2025
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
Otago University's Matehaere takes top prize at Otago awards
Hannah Matehaere. Photo: Sharron Bennett Photography Hannah Matehaere has added another accolade to an already impressive year. The Otago University rower was named rower of the year at the Otago rowing awards on Tuesday. Matehaere has been in some form this season, where she won a coveted red coat in the premier quad at the New Zealand championships and also picked up silver in the premier eight and bronze in the premier pair. She won gold in the coxless four at the North Island championships and won gold in the single, double, coxed quadruple scull, coxed four and the eight at the New Zealand university championships. Matehaere capped off the year with her first international nod, selected in the women's eight to compete at the Windermere Cup and the double for the world university regatta. After another big season, Dunstan scooped several awards. Henry Clatworthy and Mathew O'Meara were named crew of the year after a successful season on the water together, picking up several medals. They were selected for the world university rowing championships in Duisburg, Germany, in July. Olivia Ollerenshaw was named club rower of the year. Ollerenshaw, who is heading overseas on a rowing scholarship, is part of the New Zealand women's under-22 quad. Bella Breen was named female school rower of the year and at just 15, she won gold in the under-17 doubles, and coxed quad sculls, and in the under-15 double sculls at Maadi Cup. Quentin Annan has dedicated his life to rowing in Dunstan and was named masters rower of the year, after a strong year where he collected medals at Aoraki, Otago, Canterbury, South Island club and South Island masters championships. Simon Smith picked up the coach of the year award for guiding his crews, including having 14 athletes selected for national trials. Otago Boys' rowers Ollie Scott and Hunter Ruxton were also rewarded for their fine seasons. Scott was named male school rower of the year, having won gold and silver medals at every regatta this season, including the under-16 quad at Maadi Cup. Scott was selected for the South Island under-18 team, despite racing at an under-16 age. Ruxton was named coxswain of the year for his efforts in guiding the under-16 quad to gold at Maadi Cup, and was described as the heart and soul of the crew. Young Ethan Shirley and Asthon Macnee were recognised for their potential with novice crew of the year. The North End crew won gold in the novice double at the New Zealand championships after only picking up the oars three months previously. Max Gold was recognised as official of the year and Stephen Craig-Pearson was named administrator of the year. Gold has been reliable in his nearly 10 years as an umpire, attending most Dunedin and Lake Ruataniwha regattas, and stepped up as chief umpire at several Dunedin regattas this season. Craig-Pearson has been on the Otago Rowing executive committee for the past three years, serving as treasurer and passing his knowledge on to others in the sport. He has become more active with the club in Oamaru, where he now lives, and is on the pathway to becoming an umpire.
RNZ News
06-05-2025
- General
- RNZ News
Police officer maps all lost people
Senior Constable Paul (Carlos) Spencer has developed a national resource to assist in the identification of human remains and property. Photo: Supplied / NZ Police A police officer has launched a map of missing people he hopes will help reunite families with their loved ones' remains. There are more than 500 people missing and presumed dead around the country, and Senior Constable Carlos Spencer considered that as land changes in places like Aoraki/Mt Cook, bodies of long-missing people may start to turn up and a map would help with identification. On that mountain alone, there are 58 people recorded missing. A member of Canterbury's Search and Rescue team for more than 15 years, Senior Constable Spencer is often the one liaising with families looking for missing loved ones. He says these families led to him to create the interactive map.
Scoop
05-05-2025
- Science
- Scoop
How To Watch The Eta Aquariids Meteor Shower In New Zealand This Week
Article – RNZ What is the Eta Aquariids and how can you get a glimpse? RNZ Online Got a great photo of the meteor shower? Email us at iwitness@ One of the best meteor showers in the Southern Hemisphere, the Eta Aquariids, will be visible in New Zealand this week. Here's how you can catch a glimpse of it and what you need to know. Firstly, what is the Eta Aquariids? The Eta Aquariids is a meteor shower caused by the Earth passing through a trail of debris orbiting the Sun that's left behind by Halley's Comet. 'Small bits of ice, dust, and rock fall into our atmosphere and high speeds, burning up and creating the meteors, commonly known as shooting stars,' says Stardome Observatory and Planetarium's Josh Aoraki. The annual meteor shower takes place in early May each year. Aoraki says it's one of the best and most reliable meteor showers for us in the Southern Hemisphere 'so it's a great time to see a celestial light show'. How can I watch it? While you should be able to catch a glimpse of the celestial light show throughout the week, Thursday will likely be the best day – but prepare for an early morning, peak viewing time is after the Moon has set, between 3am and 6am. 'All you need is a clear sky and an unobstructed view of the north-eastern sky looking toward the constellation Aquarius,' Aoraki says. You won't need a telescope, just look for Venus shining brightly. MetService is forecasting chilly nights and mornings this week so you'll want to wrap up warm if you're heading outside. Where's the best place to see it? While it'll be visible to anyone in New Zealand, anyone living in a city should head out to somewhere with clear, dark skies for the best viewing experience. Under dark skies you could see between 10 and 50 meteors per hour but patience will be key. Will I be able to get a photo on my phone? Unfortunately this is probably not one of those experiences you'll be able to capture on your phone, unless you're able to take a decent long exposure photo, Aoraki says. 'You will need a professional camera or DSLR camera to capture this. Smartphones are not good in low light and most do not have great long-exposure settings. 'Any camera that has a long exposure setting of around 30 seconds should be able to capture a few meteors streaking across the sky if you set up a timelapse.'
Scoop
05-05-2025
- Science
- Scoop
How To Watch The Eta Aquariids Meteor Shower In New Zealand This Week
Got a great photo of the meteor shower? Email us at iwitness@ One of the best meteor showers in the Southern Hemisphere, the Eta Aquariids, will be visible in New Zealand this week. Here's how you can catch a glimpse of it and what you need to know. Firstly, what is the Eta Aquariids? The Eta Aquariids is a meteor shower caused by the Earth passing through a trail of debris orbiting the Sun that's left behind by Halley's Comet. "Small bits of ice, dust, and rock fall into our atmosphere and high speeds, burning up and creating the meteors, commonly known as shooting stars," says Stardome Observatory and Planetarium's Josh Aoraki. The annual meteor shower takes place in early May each year. Aoraki says it's one of the best and most reliable meteor showers for us in the Southern Hemisphere "so it's a great time to see a celestial light show". How can I watch it? While you should be able to catch a glimpse of the celestial light show throughout the week, Thursday will likely be the best day - but prepare for an early morning, peak viewing time is after the Moon has set, between 3am and 6am. "All you need is a clear sky and an unobstructed view of the north-eastern sky looking toward the constellation Aquarius," Aoraki says. You won't need a telescope, just look for Venus shining brightly. MetService is forecasting chilly nights and mornings this week so you'll want to wrap up warm if you're heading outside. Where's the best place to see it? While it'll be visible to anyone in New Zealand, anyone living in a city should head out to somewhere with clear, dark skies for the best viewing experience. Under dark skies you could see between 10 and 50 meteors per hour but patience will be key. Will I be able to get a photo on my phone? Unfortunately this is probably not one of those experiences you'll be able to capture on your phone, unless you're able to take a decent long exposure photo, Aoraki says. "You will need a professional camera or DSLR camera to capture this. Smartphones are not good in low light and most do not have great long-exposure settings. "Any camera that has a long exposure setting of around 30 seconds should be able to capture a few meteors streaking across the sky if you set up a timelapse."
RNZ News
05-05-2025
- Climate
- RNZ News
How to watch the Eta Aquariids meteor shower in New Zealand this week
Photo: Thilina Kaluthotage / NurPhoto via AFP Got a great photo of the meteor shower? Email us at iwitness@ One of the best meteor showers in the Southern Hemisphere, the Eta Aquariids, will be visible in New Zealand this week. Here's how you can catch a glimpse of it and what you need to know. The Eta Aquariids is a meteor shower caused by the Earth passing through a trail of debris orbiting the Sun that's left behind by Halley's Comet. "Small bits of ice, dust, and rock fall into our atmosphere and high speeds, burning up and creating the meteors, commonly known as shooting stars," says Stardome Observatory and Planetarium's Josh Aoraki. The annual meteor shower takes place in early May each year. Aoraki says it's one of the best and most reliable meteor showers for us in the Southern Hemisphere "so it's a great time to see a celestial light show". Halley's Comet as photographed on May 4, 1910. Photo: Alexander Turnbull Library While you should be able to catch a glimpse of the celestial light show throughout the week, Thursday will likely be the best day - but prepare for an early morning, peak viewing time is after the Moon has set, between 3am and 6am.. "All you need is a clear sky and an unobstructed view of the north-eastern sky looking toward the constellation Aquarius," Aoraki says. You won't need a telescope, just look for Venus shining brightly MetService is forecasting chilly nights and mornings this week so you'll want to wrap up warm if you're heading outside. While it'll be visible to anyone in New Zealand, anyone living in a city should head out to somewhere with clear, dark skies for the best viewing experience. Under dark skies you could see between 10 and 50 meteors per hour but patience will be key. Unfortunately this is probably not one of those experiences you'll be able to capture on your phone, unless you're able to take a decent long exposure photo, Aoraki says. "You will need a professional camera or DSLR camera to capture this. Smartphones are not good in low light and most do not have great long-exposure settings. "Any camera that has a long exposure setting of around 30 seconds should be able to capture a few meteors streaking across the sky if you set up a timelapse."
