Latest news with #RNZOnline
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
03-05-2025
- Business
- Scoop
Teaching Kids About Money Early Helps Them Avoid ‘The Bear Traps'
Article – RNZ The sooner you start making smart decisions about money, the better, says Making Cents podcast host Frances Cook. RNZ Online There's one question that financial journalist Frances Cook gets asked repeatedly. 'The number one thing that people say to me every single time is, I wish I knew this earlier.' Cook, who hosts the podcast Making Cents says the government's announcement of financial literacy education for students in years 1-10 starting in 2026 then is a good step towards ensuring young people get on the right financial track while they have time on their side. Frances Cook is a financial podcaster, journalist and reformed 'money mess.' Related stories: 'Because the thing about money is money and time are so strongly linked,' she tells RNZ Nights. 'If you don't have much money, then you can still get ahead if you've got time on your side. 'So, the earlier you can start with some of these things, the easier it is for you to get ahead.' Before she started tackling her own financial situation in her 20s, Cook believed money planning was for others. She says this belief remains rife in New Zealand. 'We absorb all of these cultural narratives about money, and that's just not for someone like me, is a really, really tough one, because we often don't think it consciously, but it will stop us even looking for the low-hanging fruit.' Even just changing your approach to KiwiSaver will make a difference, she says. 'You don't have to put in any extra money. Change a couple of KiwiSaver settings, and you can be doing so much better in life.' Getting in early can help people starting out in their career make smarter early decisions that will bear fruit many years later, she says. 'You're getting in on the ground level, and you're talking to kids in a classroom, you're making money less of a taboo in the first place, and that, in itself, is actually just as powerful as any of the dollars and cents learning.' This deficit in financial knowledge entrenches inequality in New Zealand, she says. 'We don't want a landed gentry situation, where if your parents are wealthy and they understand money and they teach you about money, then you get this big head start in life. 'We already have that a little bit with the bank of mum and dad being so important for people getting into their first homes. 'If we also have that [inequality] for the mere knowledge of how money works, the mere knowledge of the bear traps to avoid, and the little things that can get you ahead, even if you don't have much money, then we're going to have very quickly, a very unequal society.' She suggests year 1 students should be taught the very basics about just what money is and how it works. 'Just getting them comfortable with the idea of money, that things cost a certain amount. Once it runs out, it's gone. 'Having open conversations about what people around them do with money, encouraging curiosity, encouraging the ability to ask where it comes from? What it's doing? How is money earned?' Older students can be introduced to more sophisticated financial concepts, she says. 'How can you give them as much ownership as possible and a safe space to fail? If you want to put money away for them so that they can learn how to do things like invest, love that, but don't do it for them. 'Give them ownership of it. If you're helping them get into KiwiSaver or Sharesies or whatever else, let them choose the investments. Let them make some bad ones. 'Let them see how the market works. It goes up and down, because that is an amazing time for them to experiment while they've still got the safety net underneath them.'
Scoop
03-05-2025
- Business
- Scoop
Teaching Kids About Money Early Helps Them Avoid 'The Bear Traps'
RNZ Online There's one question that financial journalist Frances Cook gets asked repeatedly. 'The number one thing that people say to me every single time is, I wish I knew this earlier.' Cook, who hosts the podcast Making Cents says the government's announcement of financial literacy education for students in years 1-10 starting in 2026 then is a good step towards ensuring young people get on the right financial track while they have time on their side. Frances Cook is a financial podcaster, journalist and reformed "money mess." 'Because the thing about money is money and time are so strongly linked," she tells RNZ Nights. "If you don't have much money, then you can still get ahead if you've got time on your side. 'So, the earlier you can start with some of these things, the easier it is for you to get ahead.' Before she started tackling her own financial situation in her 20s, Cook believed money planning was for others. She says this belief remains rife in New Zealand. 'We absorb all of these cultural narratives about money, and that's just not for someone like me, is a really, really tough one, because we often don't think it consciously, but it will stop us even looking for the low-hanging fruit." Even just changing your approach to KiwiSaver will make a difference, she says. 'You don't have to put in any extra money. Change a couple of KiwiSaver settings, and you can be doing so much better in life.' Getting in early can help people starting out in their career make smarter early decisions that will bear fruit many years later, she says. 'You're getting in on the ground level, and you're talking to kids in a classroom, you're making money less of a taboo in the first place, and that, in itself, is actually just as powerful as any of the dollars and cents learning.' This deficit in financial knowledge entrenches inequality in New Zealand, she says. 'We don't want a landed gentry situation, where if your parents are wealthy and they understand money and they teach you about money, then you get this big head start in life. 'We already have that a little bit with the bank of mum and dad being so important for people getting into their first homes. 'If we also have that [inequality] for the mere knowledge of how money works, the mere knowledge of the bear traps to avoid, and the little things that can get you ahead, even if you don't have much money, then we're going to have very quickly, a very unequal society.' She suggests year 1 students should be taught the very basics about just what money is and how it works. 'Just getting them comfortable with the idea of money, that things cost a certain amount. Once it runs out, it's gone. 'Having open conversations about what people around them do with money, encouraging curiosity, encouraging the ability to ask where it comes from? What it's doing? How is money earned?' Older students can be introduced to more sophisticated financial concepts, she says. 'How can you give them as much ownership as possible and a safe space to fail? If you want to put money away for them so that they can learn how to do things like invest, love that, but don't do it for them. 'Give them ownership of it. If you're helping them get into KiwiSaver or Sharesies or whatever else, let them choose the investments. Let them make some bad ones. 'Let them see how the market works. It goes up and down, because that is an amazing time for them to experiment while they've still got the safety net underneath them.'
Scoop
25-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Scoop
Ten-year-old Trumpet Prodigy: 'The Wind Just Took My Trumpet Sound Far Away'
RNZ Online Ten-year-old trumpet prodigy Celine Wu has a busy day as a musician on Anzac Day. The award-winning musician, who has graced the stage of New York's Carnegie Hall, wants to use her talent to bring comfort to descendants, whānau and friends of soldiers who died while serving. Playing at local commemorative services, for a third year, Wu says she got up early to go to the Browns Bay dawn service on the North Shore. "It's much more special because it was by the beach and the wind just took my trumpet sound far away, telling the soldiers who couldn't come back, 'we hadn't forgotten you'." Speaking to Anzac Morning with Susana Lei'ataua, Wu said she wished to gift an excerpt of La Califfa and Gabriel's Oboe by Ennio Morricone. She described the music as "soft and warm like a big hug". "I hope it brings comfort to the people who miss someone today." Her journey with the trumpet began three years ago. "I started playing piano and flute. They all sound small and we had a trumpet at home, and I tried it, I made a sound. It sounded big and bold and that was my instrument. "You can tell that flute and piano are tiny, like the sound is tiny, and trumpet [sound] can expand if you like so I picked it." Wu also recently came back from Japan where she met with international trumpet soloist André Henry. "He showed me many new things and helped me with the piece I'm preparing for a competition. I watched a lot of people play this piece on YouTube, but it just doesn't sound actually good … so he played it and it sounded beautiful." The Sunnynook School student will also be playing at an Anzac service at Devonport and a concert at Takapuna Normal School today.
