Latest news with #SouthernHemisphere
Forbes
an hour ago
- Lifestyle
- Forbes
Father's Day Gift Guide 2025: Top Pinot Noir From Central Otago, New Zealand
A festive dinner party featuring Valli Wine. When it comes to Father's Day, a bottle of thoughtfully chosen wine never misses. But instead of the usual Cabernet or Scotch, consider something cooler — literally. This year, give the dad in your life a taste of one of the world's most exciting wine regions: Central Otago, New Zealand. Known for its cool-climate Pinot Noir, Central Otago produces some of the most expressive, age-worthy, and sustainably farmed red wines in the Southern Hemisphere, nay, the world. Whether your dad is a fan of Burgundy, a champion of sustainability, or simply enjoys an earthy, complex red wine with dinner, these six bottles will make you the hero of the holiday. Here are six top Central Otago Pinot Noirs to gift this Father's Day, selected for their character and sense of place. Next year, dad will be clamoring for the gift of a trip to New Zealand. One of several Pinot Noirs made by Valli. Founded in 1998 by pioneering Central Otago winemaker Grant Taylor, Valli was one of the first wineries to bottle Pinot Noir by subregion, highlighting the area's distinct terroirs. Today, the wines are made by Jen Parr, an Oregon-born winemaker with deep ties to New Zealand and a reputation for crafting expressive, site-specific Pinots. This 2023 release comes from Valli's estate vineyard in Bendigo, Central Otago's warmest and driest subregion. The site's north-facing slopes, low rainfall, and rocky soils yield concentrated, age-worthy wines. The 2023 vintage saw a mild spring followed by a warm, dry summer, producing fruit with good balance and pure flavors. Expect bold dark fruit, spice, and fine tannins in this powerful yet poised Pinot that captures the intensity of the Bendigo landscape. Wine to Find: Bendigo Vineyard, Pinot Noir, Valli, 2023, $62 The cellar door of Mt Difficulty features stunning views. Founded in the early 1990s by a small group of Central Otago grape growers, Mt Difficulty played a key role in establishing Bannockburn as one of New Zealand's premier Pinot Noir regions. The winery remains based in this warm, dry corner of Central Otago, where schist soils and long autumns consistently produce richly flavored wines. The 2022 Bannockburn Pinot Noir shows the signature intensity of the region: dark cherry, Szechuan pepper, and star anise on the nose, with layers of red and blue fruit on the palate. A savory undertone and baking spice carry through to a long, balanced finish. It's a polished, expressive red — ideal for dads who appreciate bold flavor and a sense of place. Wine to Fine: Bannockburn Pinot Noir, 2022, $57 The Glenlee vineyard shows the elegant, expressive side of Pinot Noir. Bottle shot of an older vintage. Current releases are 2021, 2022, and soon, 2023. Alan Brady planted the first vines at Gibbston Valley in the early 1980s, pioneering Pinot Noir in Central Otago. By 1987, the winery had released the region's first commercial bottling. One of its standout vineyards today is Glenlee, a north-facing site with stony glacial soils that produce deeply structured fruit. The 2021 Glenlee Pinot Noir comes from a vintage that started cool and finished warm and dry — a combination that allowed the fruit to ripen slowly and evenly. It opens with blackberry and floral aromatics, followed by red fruit and wild herbs on the palate. The structure is firm but not heavy, and the finish is long, elegant, and precise. A great pick for dad's who prefer a more fragrant, layered Pinot. Wine to Find: Glenlee Pinot Noir, 2021, $80 One of Central Otago's leading wineries, Felton Road has been a leader in both biodynamic farming and its vision for the region. Founded in 1991 by Stewart Elms and now owned by Nigel Greening, Felton Road is one of Central Otago's most respected wineries, known for its commitment to organic and biodynamic farming. Winemaker Blair Walter and viticulturist Gareth King have worked together for decades to craft site-expressive Pinot Noir from the Bannockburn subregion. The MacMuir Vineyard, located just east of Felton Road's original Elms Vineyard, features deep silt soils and high-density plantings. This 2022 release — only the second single-vineyard bottling from MacMuir — opens with a dark, herb-laced nose and restrained, earthy aromatics. On the palate, it shows fine structure and savory detail: chocolate, dried herbs, and layered fruit, all rendered with striking clarity. Wine to Fine: MacMuir Pinot Noir, 2022, $84 (pre-arrival sale) A Pinot Noir with dinner at Mount Edward. Founded in 1997 by Central Otago wine pioneer Alan Brady, Mount Edward is now run by owners John Buchanan and winemaker Duncan Forsyth. Based in the Gibbston Valley, the winery is certified organic and takes a low-intervention approach in both the vineyard and cellar. The 2022 Pisa Terrace Pinot Noir comes from a high-elevation site in the Pisa subregion, where long autumns and stony soils shape the fruit. This vintage leans savory and floral — think red and black berries, a sprig of wild thyme, and hints of allspice. It's velvety and refined with just enough grip to keep it grounded. Wine to Find: Pisa Terrace Pinot Noir 2021, $75 Royal Block Quarz Reef, one of the winery's most exceptional Pinot Noirs. Founded in 1996 by Austrian-born winemaker Rudi Bauer, Quartz Reef is based in the Bendigo subregion of Central Otago and is certified biodynamic. The Royal Series is a limited collection of single-ferment Pinot Noirs from the estate's densely planted vineyard blocks. The 'Anna von Tirol' bottling — now in its fourth release — comes from Block 12, referred to by the winery as the 'Royal Block.' The 2022 vintage opens with dark cherry, plum, and floral aromatics. The palate is rich and structured, with layered red and black fruits, sweet spice, and a finely textured finish. It's a full-bodied Pinot with both weight and precision — a standout choice for collectors or anyone looking to gift something singular and age-worthy. Wine to Find: Royal Series 'Anna Von Tirol' Pinot Noir, 2022, $83
ABC News
3 hours ago
- Climate
- ABC News
A peak in the solar cycle means we're getting spectacular aurora australis sightings — for now
We've been treated to some stunning aurora australis light displays over the past few days, but don't expect the glow to last forever. The Sun's 11-year cycle means we're currently in the midst of an explosion of aurora activity. But that'll simmer down soon. It's a phenomenon when the sky in the Southern Hemisphere is lit up by glowing whirls of colour. You'll also hear it referred to as the southern lights. "Australis" comes from the Latin word for "southern". In the Northern Hemisphere, it's called the aurora borealis, or the northern lights. Geomagnetic storms. It's triggered by something called coronal mass ejections. "A coronal mass ejection is the literal ejection of material from the Sun out into space," Australian Space Weather Forecasting Centre (ASWFC) forecaster Andrew Jackling says. This sends charged particles from the Sun towards Earth, causing geomagnetic storms that can disrupt Earth's magnetic field. "Kind of like in a normal thunderstorm, your shutters on your house would get a bit rattled by the wind and the rain," he said. In a geomagnetic storm, the disruption can cause atoms of oxygen and nitrogen in the atmosphere to emit bright, colourful light. "There was a large solar storm on the 31st of May," Australian National University astrophysicist Brad Tucker says. "The storm was large enough to trigger a G4 storm on Earth. "The scale is 1-5, like cyclones, with G5 the largest." Here are some of the latest photos, posted to the ABC's Weather Obsessed Facebook group: While auroras are usually limited to the southernmost parts of the country, there were sightings as far north as Tamworth in New South Wales. And a big part of this is because of where we are in the solar cycle, which goes for roughly 11 years. "The current solar cycle began in 2019, since which time solar activity has generally increased as the Sun progresses toward solar maximum, which officially began in October 2024," Mr Jackling says. And that means spectacular auroras. "During solar maxima, which we are at, the Sun produces more storms, and more extreme storms," Dr Tucker says. "The activity is stronger so it is producing more of these." But it's not just the individual storm from the past few days. We've had some fairly spectacular aurora displays over the past year — check out the ABC's collection of photos from January, October, September and last July. However, the most notable aurora displays happened in May 2024, when a G5 storm hit Earth. It was the biggest geomagnetic storm we'd seen in 20 years, NASA says. While it didn't cause any catastrophic damages, the event was so big it was given a name — Gannon storm — and was the subject of a big NASA study. The solar maximum may continue for another year or two, Mr Jackling says. "By 2027, solar activity is likely to have reduced from present levels, making geomagnetic storms and subsequent auroral displays less likely to occur," he says. However, it's hard to tell exactly how long the aurora boom will last. "Every 11-year period of maximum activity varies in strength," Dr Tucker says. "Just like summers vary in how hot they are, or how wet/cold winters are, same, with the Sun, so some periods are better and others are less. "This has been a good period." No, they could still happen. "Significant space weather can occur at other times in the cycle too," Mr Jackling says. However, aurora australis activity during this time might not be visible as far north as we've been enjoying lately. So aurora chasers may have to travel much further south. "There is still an often low level of activity in the quiet years that you can get, but you need to be very near the south or north pole, which is why people make trips to the Arctic circle to see them," Dr Tucker says. Also, it's important to remember that the solar cycle means we'll come back around to another solar maximum — we'll just have to wait about a decade. Yep. "The northern and southern lights are affected equally so they will reduce as well," Dr Tucker says. However, people in the Northern Hemisphere have a better chance of seeing an aurora. "It is generally easier to see the northern lights than the southern lights due to the geographic distribution of land in the northern hemisphere, where there are more populated areas closer to the northern polar region," Mr Jackling says. "This is true at all times of the solar cycle." The ASWFC, which is part of the Bureau of Meteorology, sends out geomagnetic storm alerts via email. If you sign up to the ASWFC alerts via this online portal, you'll get an email when there's an alert.
Forbes
4 days ago
- General
- Forbes
Scientists: Webb Telescope May Find Planet Around Closest Bright Star
Alpha Centauri, one of the two "Pointer Stars" that help stargazers find the Southern Cross in the ... More Southern Hemisphere, may have a planet in orbit around it. If it does, the Webb Telescope will find it — as long as it's Jupiter-sized. The closest star to the sun, Proxima Centauri, has a planet. It may even have two planets. Proxima Centauri is located in the constellation Centaurus, visible only from the southern hemisphere, but it's a red dwarf star too small to be seen. That brightest star in Centaurus — and the third brightest in the entire night sky — is Alpha Centauri. It's two stars (Alpha Centauri A and Alpha Centauri B) orbiting each other, with Proxima Centauri orbiting them every 550,000 years, in a weird-sounding (but not rare) three-star solar system. Does Alpha Centauri have planets around it? It's a Holy Grail among planet-hunters, mostly because Alpha Centauri is only 4.37 light-years distant. Since it's so close to the solar system, it's theoretically an ideal target for astrometry (the study of the movements of stars and celestial bodies), as well as for direct infrared imaging using the James Webb Space Telescope, two techniques that can detect planets orbiting distant stars — exoplanets. A new paper published this week in Research Notes of the American Astronomical Society details the use of the Webb telescope to study Alpha Centauri in February 2025. Although it didn't detect any planets, it provides glimpses of what may still be hiding around the star. The Alpha Centauri star system — a triple-star planetary system. According to the paper, the Webb telescope's Mid-InfraRed Instrument would have detected gas giant planets like Jupiter at about twice the Earth-sun distance from Alpha Centauri A if they were roughly similar to Earth's temperature. It's tricky because, in a system with two bright stars, light pollution is always a problem. Although the Webb telescope has a coronagraph disc to block the light from the host star (by creating an artificial eclipse) to help it detect planets in the vicinity, it doesn't have two coronagraphs to use on two separate stars. Despite that — and despite Alpha Centauri Ac being five billion years old, meaning any planets in its orbit would likely be very old, cool and therefore dim — the scientists think the Webb telescope can still be used to find large Jupiter-sized planets in its orbit. The authors call Alpha Centauri "an exceptional but challenging target for exoplanet searches." This early conclusion is based on just one set of observations from February 2025. Webb also observed Alpha Centauri A in August 2024 and April 2025, so more conclusions — and possibly a discovery of a planet — could be imminent. Illustration of the Earth-like exoplanet Proxima Centauri b orbiting the star Proxima Centauri. ... More (Illustration by Tobias Roetsch/Future Publishing via Getty Images) In 2016, astronomers found an exoplanet in Proxima Centauri's habitable zone and named it Proxima Centauri b. This exoplanet orbits its star every 11 days from just 5% of the Earth-sun distance from the star. Proxima Centauri b is thought to orbit the star's 'habitable zone,' which is defined as a distance that allows temperatures to be warm enough for liquid water to pool on the planet's surface. However, it's thought that Proxima Centauri sometimes unleashes a massive stellar flare — an energetic explosion of high energy radiation — that would make life as we know it impossible on any planets in orbit. A paper in 2020 suggested that Proxima Centauri may be orbited by a second "super-Earth" sized planet (bigger than Earth, but smaller than Uranus) about the same distance from its star as Mars is from the sun. If it exists, it orbits Proxima Centauri every 5.2 Earth years. Barnard's star is one of the fastest-moving stars in the night sky because it's just six light-years from the solar system. In October 2024, scientists unveiled a planet around it thought to be about half the size of Venus. Called Barnard's b, it's around 20 times closer than Mercury is to the sun. Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes.
ABC News
5 days ago
- Climate
- ABC News
Auroroa australis lights up the sky over southern Australia
An alert about a geomagnetic storm might not sound like a good thing, but it's exactly the kind of notification photographers of the southern night sky want to be getting. These storms are behind a phenomenon called the aurora australis, or the southern lights, which produce a colourful light show. And that's just what happened in some southern parts of the country last night. Here are some stunning examples shared to the ABC's Weather Obsessed Facebook page: These photographers are among many who post their snaps to the Facebook group. It's a public group where people share pictures and weather updates from around the country — and many other parts of the world. Lately there's been a lot of snaps of frosts and autumnal leaves, but it is flooded with aurora photos when geomagnetic storms flare up. It's a phenomenon when the sky in the Southern Hemisphere is lit up by glowing whirls of colour. "Australis" comes from the Latin word for "southern". In the Northern Hemisphere, it's the aurora borealis, or the northern lights. Geomagnetic storms. They're triggered by something called coronal mass ejections. "A coronal mass ejection is the literal ejection of material from the Sun out into space," Australian Space Weather Forecasting Centre (ASWFC) forecaster Andrew Jackling said. This sends charged particles from the Sun towards Earth, causing geomagnetic storms that can disrupt Earth's magnetic field. "Kind of like in a normal thunderstorm, your shutters on your house would get a bit rattled by the wind and the rain," he said. In a geomagnetic storm, the disruption can cause atoms of oxygen and nitrogen in the atmosphere to emit bright, colourful light. And that's what gives us these whirls of colourful lights in the sky. That depends on how strong the geomagnetic storm is but, generally speaking, it'll be visible in southern parts of the country. So Tasmania is your best bet. But you might also be able to catch glimpses of it in southern parts of Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria and, if you're lucky, New South Wales. The ASWFC, which is part of the Bureau of Meteorology, sends out geomagnetic storm alerts via email. If you sign up to the ASWFC alerts via this online portal, you'll get an email when there's an alert. But before you head south, make sure to pay attention to the a G-scale rating to make a judgement about whether it'll be worth your while. This scale rates global geomagnetic activity, which ranges from G1 (minor) to G5 (extreme). Alerts will have a G rating, where the higher the rating, the greater the chance of a spectacular light show. You should also have a squiz at the ASWFC's dedicated Aurora website, which will give you an idea of how severe the geomagnetic storm is. And keep in mind that local weather and Moon cycles can impact how you see an aurora. Heavy cloud coverage might block out the glow. And the light from a full or nearly Moon could make the aurora appear duller — same goes for light pollution from populated areas. So it's best to find a spot on a beach or hill out of town with a clear view to the south.
CNA
27-05-2025
- Sport
- CNA
Extra time under consideration for Lions series decider
SYDNEY :Rugby Australia chief Phil Waugh says the board of the British & Irish Lions is considering a proposal for sudden-death extra time should a deciding third test in the upcoming series finish in a draw. In 2017, in one of the great anti-climaxes in the history of the game, the Lions ended up sharing series honours with the All Blacks after the deciding third test ended in a 15-15 draw. Waugh said RA was keen to put the spectator experience at the heart of everything during the Lions tour so had suggested at meetings in London that 'golden point' extra time be played in such a situation. "We've had some really constructive conversations. That's got to go to the Lions board around whether it's a drawn series, or you decide it through golden point or extra time," Waugh told the Sydney Morning Herald. "Our preference, if we put the fans at the centre of everything we're doing, I think that the familiarity that everyone has with 'superpoint' and the interest for that in our market is a good guide. "Obviously, we will be making sure both parties agree. But I think that if you're thinking about some fan engagement, that's certainly very appealing."In the case of a draw after 80 minutes in Super Rugby matches, teams play 10 minutes of "superpoint" extra time with any score immediately deciding the winner. Waugh said both sides had agreed that the 20-minute red card, which has been played in the southern hemisphere for several seasons and made its debut in the Six Nations this year, would be the rule for the series. "We've been very vocal in our support for the 20-minute red card," Waugh told the newspaper. The Lions will play Argentina in Dublin on June 20 before three tests and six tour matches in Australia in June, July and August.
