Winterstellar Charitable Trust was established in 2022 to advance the appreciation, understanding and benefits of Otago’s dark skies and to promote Māori Mātauranga through astrophotography, astronomy and other arts.
Otago’s low population leads to some of Aotearoa/New Zealand’s darkest skies. From our location on the planet astride the 45 South parallel, the Southern Milky Way and Magellanic Clouds rise higher and stay longer in our night sky and we enjoy better visibility of the Aurora Australis than 99.99% of the world’s population who live further north.
This natural dark-sky resource at this unique location on the planet can be used to enhance economic, cultural, educational and recreational benefits for the region.