RASNZ

Today Sunday 21 June is our Winter Solstice, our shortest day of the year where in Wellington we get 9 hrs 11 mins and 22 secs of daylight. You will receive even less daylight the further south you go. Tomorrow we will get less than a second more daylight which gets progressively more every day.

Thanks to the tilt of the Earth, we have different seasons as the Earth orbits around the Sun. During the Solstice, the tilt points directly at the Sun in the northern hemisphere and directly away for us in the southern hemisphere. This takes place exactly at 8:24 pm tonight. After that time we start our journey back into Summer. It is also why we celebrate Matariki at this time of year.
NZ IAU Astronomy Outreach IAU Office for Astronomy Outreach

You don't want to miss this!

This Givealittle page is to raise funds for the secondary school students that make up the national team representing Aotearoa New Zealand at the International Olympiad for Astronomy and Astrophysics in Hanoi, Vietnam 25 September - 5 Oct, 2026 https://www.ioaa2026.vn/en

All funds raised through this page will be directly used to support the New Zealand national representative team, covering the necessary expenses to help them travel and compete in the IOAA international finals. Your contribution ensures that our talented students have the opportunity to represent Aotearoa New Zealand on the global stage. Please give a donation to help support the NZOAA team https://www.nzoaa.com/
NZ IAU Astronomy Outreach IAU Office for Astronomy Outreach

Royal Astronomical Society of New Zealand We built this page for our subordinate section, the NZOAA, to raise funds for the national team representing New Zealand at the IOAA.