CAMELOPARDALIS CAMELOPARDALIS GIRAFE

Juil/Août/Sept N Oct/Nov/Déc GIRAFE N

July/Aug/Sept Zoom A Zoom B Zoom C Oct/Nov/Dec

DRACO CASSIOPEIA DRAGON

Visible Avr/Mai/Juin/Juil/Août/Sept Visible toute l'année Visible Oct/Nov/Dec/Jan/Fev/Mars CASSIOPÉE

La chèvre La

CYGNUS Seen Apr/May/June/July/Aug/Sept Seen all year Seen Oct/Nov/Dec/Jan/Feb/Mar

CYGNE

PERSEUS ANDROMEDA

LYRA

PERSÉE

Deneb ANDROMÉDE

LACERTA BALANCE LYRE

LÉZARD

Deneb LIBRA

AURIGA Véga

LACERTA

COCHER Castor LÉZARD

CYGNE

CYGNUS

CYGNUS CYGNE

A

La perle La Pollux BIG SQUARE BIG

GRAND CARRÉ GRAND DELPHINUS

LYRE TAURUS TAUREAU DAUPHIN GÉMEAUX

HERCULES GEMINI HERCULE

Deneb LYRA Aldébaran

PEGASUS

BOOTES

ARIES

PÉGASE

BOUVIER Véga Antarès CANCER

BOUVIER Aldébaran BÉLIER

BIG SQUARE BIG

CANCER TAUREAU C

BOOTES PISCES

GRAND CARRÉ GRAND

Altair

PEGASUS

PÉGASE CENTAURE ORION TAURUS POISSONS

La perle CENTAURUS CORONA BOREALIS CORONA

DAUPHIN

DELPHINUS

COURONNE BORÉALE COURONNE ORION Arcturus

AQUILA PETIT CHIEN

ORION

ORION

AIGLE LUPUSLOUP COURONNE BORÉALE CROIX DU SUD CANIS MINOR CETUS

Bételgeuse

CORONA BOREALIS SOUTHERN CROSS BALEINE SCUTUM HERCULE Altair

SERPENS Procyon Bételgeuse

ÉCU HERCULES Alpha MONOCEROS

SERPENTAIRE Centauri LICORNE VERSEAU

Rigel AQUARIUS

AQUARIUSVERSEAU SAGITTARIUS SCORPION AIGLE

E CAPRICORNE SAGITTAIRE W Arcturus SCORPIO E AQUILA W

VIRGO Beta Acrux LICORNE VIERGE BALEINE CAPRICORN ERIDANUS CETUS Fomalhaut Centauri ÉRIDAN MONOCEROS Sirius SCULPTEUR Fomalhaut POISSON AUSTRAL LIBRA BALANCE LIÈVRE PHÉNIX PISCIS AUSTRINUS SCORPION LEPUS SCULPTOR SCORPIO MOUCHE Fausse croix Rigel AUTEL Sirius PHOENIX L'épi MUSCA False cross CAPRICORNE Antarès ARA POISSON AUSTRAL CAPRICORN PISCIS AUSTRINUS

GRAND CHIEN GRAND CHIEN CANIS MAJOR POISSON VOLANT COLOMBE

INDIEN CANIS MAJOR COLUMBA

INDUS APUS GRUE ÉCU SCUTUM SCULPTEUR VOLANS SCUTUM COURONNE AUSTRALE GRUS SCULPTOR CORONA AUSTRALIS DORADE AUTEL OISEAU DE PARADIS DORADO Achernar ARA TOUCAN GRUE B Swan SAGITTAIRE LOUP LIÈVRE TUCANA GRUS PAON HYDRA Canopus SAGITTARIUS PAVO LUPUS A very beautiful constellation, LEPUS INDIEN INDUS HYDRE FEMELLE POUPE Alpha PUPPIS TRIANGULUMTRIANGLE with its wings widely spread, Petit nuage TOUCAN Centauri HYDRE MÂLE CARÈNE de Magellan OCTANT the Swan seems to be fl ying CARINA TUCANA OISEAU DE PARADIS HYDRUS OCTANS CENTAURE This area of the Southern sky looks like a diamond necklace with so many stars of all sizes! PHÉNIX CENTAURUS along the Milky Way. Grand nuage PHOENIX Beta PAON Unfortunately, in October, November and December, this area is at the limit of the horizon POISSON VOLANTde Magellan PAVO CentauriCROIX DU SUD COURONNE AUSTRALE APUS Fausse croix CORONA AUSTRALIS Petit nuage False cross VOLANS de Magellan SOUTHERN CROSS and just about out of sight. OCTANT Achernar Lyra (the Lyre) VOILE OCTANS PÔLE SUD AUTEL SCORPION ÉRIDAN Scorpio (Te Matau O Maui, the Scorpion) and its legend VELA SOUTH POLE ARA SCORPIO ERIDANUS Acrux An easy-to-spot small HYDRE MÂLE PÔLE SUD MOUCHE Perhaps the most beautiful constellation in the Southern sky, it is easy to fi nd with its front SOUTH POLE MUSCA rectangle of light, with the HYDRUS presence of Vega, the 5th claws (looking more like a shiny webbed foot) and its tail curled on itself. Formed of several B Grand nuage bright stars, among which is Antares, a super giant with a reddish color, with a diameter brightest star. APUS de Magellan POISSON VOLANT 300 times larger than the sun. Scorpio is known in Polynesia for its famous legend, the Orion MOUCHE OISEAU DE PARADIS VOLANS Fausse croix MUSCA False cross legend of Pipiri and his sister Rehua. A superb constellation, often familiar with the people in the Northern Hemisphere, it do- S Corona Borealis minates the sky and cannot go unnoticed. At the center of its characteristic shield, with its S (Northern Crown) Back from an abundant fi shing party, Pipiri and Rehua’s parents were preparing a ahima’a (Tahitian oven) while their children were asleep. But they woke up and, upset that they had not been invited sooner to the feast, Pipiri and his sister three close bright stars, and at its right foot the blueish Rigel, brighter than the Hunter (a Acrux It is small but very easy to went to hide behind the house. When everything was ready, the parents decided to wake their children up, but realized with panic that they had disappeared and went looking for them. When they were about ready to come back, Pipiri and super giant 400 times the sun’s diameter) with a reddish color, located on the left shoulder. THE MAJOR SHOOTING STARS SHOWERS fi nd with its characteristic Rehua ran into some evil spirit who talked them into climbing up in the sky by tying themselves to the tail of a large kite and graceful crown shape. that was just fl ying there. Pipiri and Rehua were changed into stars, which are now shining at the tail of the Scorpion Name Approximate date number of stars/hour Dust left by Comet THE MAJOR SHOOTING STARS SHOWERS constellation, while the kite became a red star (Antares) at the heart of that same constellation. Canis Major (The Big Dog) There are only two crowns in Orionids October 20/21 25 Halley Name Approximate date number of stars/hour Dust left by Comet the sky, this one and Corona Centaurus (the Centaur) You fi nd it using Sirius, the brightest star in the sky, take advantage of the Tahitian sky to fully admire this gorgeous constellation as it is usually hidden by the bog cities’ light Taurids November 1 /2 15 Encke Delta Aquarids July 28/29 20 (unknow) Australis, located near the A large constellation, easier to spot than it seems. The centaur’s front hoofs are marked by tail of Scorpio. two very bright stars : Alpha and Beta of Centaurus. Alpha is the 3rd brightest star and also pollution. Leonids November 17/18 15 Temple Tuttle Perseids August 11/12 50 Swift Tuttle the closest to our solar system (4.3 light years). Be careful to not mistake it with Centaurus Geminids December 13/14 50 Phaeton Lupus, which seems to be running just below. Gemini (The Twins) Arcturus (Hokule’a): the Hawaii to Tahiti guiding star Ursids December 21/22 15 Tuttle The Perseid Meteor Shower: magical! Within the Bootes constellation, Arcturus is a very bright giant star, which was used as a The Southern Cross This constellation is part of the Zodiac signs, with Castor and Pollux making up the twins’ It begins at the end of July, when the Earth reaches the outer limits of the cloud left behind guide by navigators sailing from Hawaii to Tahiti as confi rmed by oral tradition. A traditional The most famous constellation in the Southern Hemisphere, remarkable by its brightness, heads, Pollux of a yellowish color is clearly brighter than Castor. Multiple Shooting Stars Comet Swift Tuttle. Each hour, one or two shooting stars fl ies across the sky. Then around double-hull canoe named Hokule’a followed this route again in 1976, and reached Tahiti in it looks more like a kite than a cross. The Southern Cross has a modest size, but it is a true This is not the best time of the year to observe the Austral sky’s typical constellations, August 11 or 12, the Earth goes through the heart of the cloud. There we can expect to see 33 days, but aboard she had a magician, a sailor recruited in the Carolinas Islands to teach jewel located in the middle of the sky in the months of April, May and June and which rises Taurus (The Bull) which remain hidden toward the South (they only begin to appear after midnight), but on up to 100 shooting stars per hour: a real festival of light making up the Perseid Shower, one again the crew the secrets of navigation by the stars in the high seas. These secrets had in the middle of the night in July, August and September. Be careful not to get it confused With perhaps an oversized head, Taurus, the Bull is one of the Zodiac’s major constellation. the other hand, shooting stars should be there around that period as the Earth crosses of the most spectacular of the year. long been forgotten! with the false cross, especially in October, November and December during which the true At the end of its right horn are the Pleiads, a cluster of 6 easily to spot stars. many “dust clouds” left behind by comets.… Southern Cross is barely visible.

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Sky map Sky

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GRAND CHARIOT GRAND INSTRUCTIONS PRACTICAL GUIDE TO WATCH THE STARS CHARIOT GRAND Avr/Mai/Juin Jan/Fév/Mar

N N BIG DIPPER BIG

BIG DIPPER BIG THE BRIGHTEST 19 STARS (FETIA)

Apr/May/June CHARIOT GRAND Jan/Feb/Mar

dans constell. Constellation in constellation CAMELOPARDALIS Etoile / Star Maohi GIRAFE

Français Latin English

Take along a small fl ashlight, wait until 8PM and lay down on the MAJOR URSA 1. Sirius Grand chien Canis Major Greater dog Ta’ura OURSE GRANDE

beach.

LYNX URSA MAJOR URSA

2. Canopus Carène Carina Keel Atutahi LYNX

La chèvre La

GRANDE OURSE GRANDE

Véga Véga

AURIGA

ANDROMEDA ANDROMEDA CHEVEULURE DE BÉRÉNICE DE CHEVEULURE CHEVEULURE DE BÉRÉNICE DE CHEVEULURE

CORONA BOREALIS CORONA

COURONNE BORÉALE COURONNE 1. Lay down and hold this booklet above your head

ANDROMÉDE ANDROMÉDE LYNX

3. Alpha Centauri Centaure Centaurus Centaur Nata Mata Rua COCHER

LYNX COMA BERENICES COMA

IMPORTANT: Our sky maps show the cardinal points (N, S, E, W), but BERENICES COMA

BOOTES 4. Arcturus Bouvier Bootes Herdsman Hokule’a Constellations and Southern Cross

Castor Castor BOUVIER

with East (E) to the left and West (W) to the right unlike land maps! PERSEUS

COMA BERENICES COMA

PERSÉE

Castor

LEO MINOR LEO

5. Vega Lyre Lyra Lyre Meremere GEMINI

GÉMEAUX

CHEVEULURE DE BÉRÉNICE DE CHEVEULURE

PETIT LION PETIT Do not worry, this is normal, land maps describe the earth under our

Pollux

LEO from Tahiti and her islands

HERCULES 6. Chèvre Cocher Auriga Charioteer Tahi Ari’i Pollux Arcturus CANCER

HERCULE feet, while our maps show the sky above our heads. CANCER LION

A 7. Rigel Orion Orion Hunter Mere

CANIS MINOR CANIS

Aldébaran

LEO

ALWAYS HOLD OUR SKY MAPS ABOVE YOUR HEAD. LION

8. Procyon Petit chien Canis minor Lesser dog Ana Tahu’a Vahine CHIEN PETIT ��������������� TAURUS

Land map ORION

ARIES GEMINI GEMINI

TAUREAU

VIRGO ORION

Point the N toward the North and everything will look normal again: BÉLIER

C GÉMEAUX

VIERGE 9. Achernar Eridan Eridanus River Te Pua

CANCER

CANCER West (W) will again be to your left, and East (E) to the right. If you do not know where

Bételgeuse Procyon

SERPENTAIRE North is, hold the map above your head and simply point the W toward the spot where 10. Beta Centauri Centaure Centaurus Centaur Nata Mata Rua

MONOCEROS

VIRGO SERPENS VIERGE

PISCES PISCES

LICORNE POISSONS

you saw the sun set. 11. Betelgeuse Orion Orion Hunter Ana Iva POISSONS

PETIT CHIEN CHIEN PETIT PETIT

CANIS MINOR CANIS CANIS MINOR CANIS

Procyon 12. Altaïr Aigle Aquila Eagle Tukituki

L'épi Sirius COUPE CRATER

BALANCE 2. Select your sky map in function of the month indicated 13. Aldébaran Taureau Taurus Bull Tai Rio Aitu

GRAND CHIEN Rigel

CRATER COUPE

LIBRA

CORVUS CANIS MAJOR ÉRIDAN

CORBEAU Each of our 4 sky maps represents the sky during a calendar quarter for observation ERIDANUS

E W 14. Acrux Croix du Sud Crux Southern Cross Tahua E CETUS

between 7PM and midnight (after this, it’s time to go to bed!). Select the map relevant to BALEINE W SCUTUM SCORPION 15. Antares Scorpion Scorpio Scorpio Te Matau o Maui ÉCU LICORNE POUPE LIÈVRE SCORPIO you, this will be your “Master map”: LEPUS PUPPIS MONOCEROS HYDRA 16. L’Epi / Spica Vierge Virgo Virgin Mariua CORBEAU Antarès HYDRE FEMELLE • For example, this is February 5, your Master sky map will be the one marked CORVUS 17. Castor & Pollux Gémeaux Gemini Twins Ngana CENTAURE “Jan, Feb, Mar”. CENTAURUS Sirius 18. Fomalhaut Poisson Austral Piscis Austrinus Southern fi sh Ta’Urua Nui HYDRE FEMELLE GRAND CHIEN COLOMBE LOUP CANIS MAJOR LUPUS Centauri Canopus • However, if you are at the end of a calendar quarter, for example starting March 15, and COLUMBA Alpha CROIX DU SUD VOILE SAGITTARIUSSAGITTAIRE SOUTHERN CROSS 19. Deneb Cygne Cygnus Swan Fanui Raro HYDRA VELA CARÈNE VOILE since the sky “moves” during each night, your Master sky map is the one marked “ Jan, DORADE VELA POUPE CARINA PUPPIS Feb, Mar” for the beginning of the night (9PM to 11PM), but the map marked “April, May, DORADO COURONNE AUSTRALE B The Maohi’s “Guiding Stars” (Fetia Fetuverovero) This small guide is for THOSE WHO KNOW NOTHING ABOUT THE STARS, those Fausse croix CORONA AUSTRALIS Beta Centauri False cross POISSON VOLANT Acrux Jun” can also help you after 11PM. CENTAURE The Polynesian navigators’ sky was studded with “guiding stars”, to reach after weeks of sailing in the high who, the night before, have tried desperately to fi nd the Big Dipper and the Northern CENTAURUS VOLANS ÉRIDAN AUTEL ERIDANUS ARA MOUCHE seas in the Pacifi c Ocean, an island located on maritime routes known by their ancestors. The expedition Star! MUSCA B RÉTICULE CARÈNE would bring along an expert who could “read the sky” in function of the calendar year. CARINA RETICULUM Fausse croix 3. If you’re having diffi culties: spot fi rst ANY SINGLE CONSTELLATION with one of the Forget your own points of reference and let’s discover together Scorpio, Libra, the SOUTHERNCROIX DU CROSS SUD Grand nuage TRIANGLE False cross de Magellan MOUCHE TRIANGULUM COLOMBE three Zoom maps, representing 3 enlarged areas of the sky. The Ship And The False Cross Austral Crown, the Flying Fish, the Sail, the Bird of Paradise, and of course COLUMBA MUSCA PAON Acrux Achernar PAVO PÔLE SUD The Ship is a large Austral formation visible from January until the end of June. It includes Canopus (2nd the famous Southern Cross. And for Australian, New Zealand and South American PÔLE SUD SOUTH POLE • From early April to late September, fi nd fi rst Scorpio, the Scorpion (Zoom map B), it HYDRE MÂLE PHÉNIX APUS SOUTH POLE HYDRUS Canopus brightest star in the skyl) and it is formed of four constellations: the Careen, the Stern, the Sail, and the visitors, a little refreshing course can do them no harm! Beta Centauri PHOENIX OISEAU DE PARADIS is easy to spot with its webbed foot, and it should be located about in the middle of the CAMÉLÉON VOLANS CHAMAELEON POISSON VOLANT Compass. It is at the center of the Ship that you’ll see the False Cross. Alpha Centauri sky. Why Are So Many Stars Visible From Tahiti And Her Islands? Petit nuage HYDRE MÂLE The Milky Way de Magellan INDIEN OCTANT TOUCAN INDUS HYDRUS • From October to late March, fi nd fi rst Orion (Zoom map C), very easy to spot with its At night, while looking up to the Austral sky, you are likely to fi nd yourself fascina- OCTANT TUCANA GRUE OCTANS Named in Tahitian Vai Ora A Tane, by the ancient Maoris this “Life Giving Water” is a paradise like lake, GRUS Grand nuage three stars aligned and next to each other, and often already familiar to people from the ted, as so great is the number of stars and so amazing is their light! OISEAU DE PARADIS OCTANS Petit nuage de Magellan DORADE which is the residence of the god Hokuleo who grants immortality to whomever wishes to swim with him. LOUP APUS de Magellan LUPUS TRIANGLE AUSTRAL DORADO Northern Hemisphere. TRIANGULUM AUSTRALE Magellan’s Big And Small Clouds Do not forget that you are on an island lost in the middle of the great Pacifi c Ocean, TOUCAN PAON TUCANA S RÉTICULE Discovered by the Portuguese Navigator with the same name, during his trip around the world, these are and no light pollution from any nearby big city comes to hide the twinkling light of S PAVO RETICULUM 4. Move on to the adjacent constellations with your Zoom map actually dwarf galaxies composed of millions of stars. the smallest star. The sky is clean and limpid, and the nights are warm, so there is nothing more pleasant than dreaming like a child for hours and watching shooting THE MAJOR SHOOTING STARS SHOWERS Then, follow your Zoom map to fi nd the adjacent constellations (don’t hesitate to rotate Venus And Captain Cook: the very famous Ta’Urua planet these Zoom maps in function of your sky). Find your bearings also with the brightest stars It is obviously because of Venus that Tahiti became known all over the world. In 1769 the London Royal stars while you are laying next to the lagoon. Name Approximate date number of stars/hour Dust left by Comet marked in Orange. Then fi nally, refer yourself to your Master Sky Map while pointing N Society decided to observe the passing of this planet in front of the sun and sent Captain Cook, along “Each night, the Austral sky reveals its incredible jewelry where the Southern to the North. with astronomers, telescopes, chronographs, a naturalist, and a botanist, and thus without suspecting it, THE MAJOR SHOOTING STARS SHOWERS Lyrids April 21/22 15 Thatcher it originated the very fi rst ethnographic voyage in History, which will have an impact without precedent in Cross is no more than a modest jewel!”. Albert T’Serstevens (writer) Eta Aquarids May 4/5 20 Halley Europe... for more, see www.Tahitiguide.com / subject “Famous Visitors”. Name Approximate date number of stars/hour Dust left by Comet A few geographical considerations Why Sky Maps? Quadrantids January 3/4 40 (unknow) At www.Tahitiguide.com, our speciality is the updating of tourism and mapping information inside our 3 Shooting Stars In Tahiti, latitude is 17 degrees South (17° below the Equator). Our 4 sky maps are designed for sky observation under this latitude, but they are also valid in the Society Islands and from the north of tourism guide booklets and on our website, a leader in French Polynesia. Each day, our team updates our From the Polynesian Islands, you will most likely see dozens of shooting stars, an unforget- online maps to facilitate reservations in over 300 hotels and 450 tourism activities, spread over 28 Poly- the Tuamotu (the atolls near Rangiroa). In the Marquesas, closer to the Equator (latitude 9° South), table spectacle, which redefi nes us as a very tiny observer of the universe. nesian islands. Over a MILLION and a HALF visitors consult our Website each year. The Shooting Stars Showers... stars located to the South (S) of the maps won’t be visible. In the Austral Archipelago, located further In its course around the Sun, the Earth crosses “clouds” of comet debris, and a shower But one must also dream... So we also developed this small practical guide for all the lovers who come to Time to make a wish! South at the limit of the Tropic of the Capricorn (latitude 23° South), stars located to the North (N) of of shooting stars falls over our celestial vault! There are a dozen periods of rather regular the maps will not be visible. More generally, and with a little practice, our maps are valid in the entire our islands and who rebuild the world under the stars! Unlike what their name implies, these are not stars but meteorites (i.e. small pieces of periods of shooting stars “showers” during the year. This for our greatest enjoyment!… planet as long as long as you are between 10° and 30° South of the Equator. “ If you love a fl ower that lives on a star, it is sweet to look at the sky at night. All the stars are bloomed rock, asteroids, comets), heating up and disintegrating while entering the Earth’s atmos- with fl owers . . .” Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, the Little Prince phere, leaving a luminous trail behind during their fall. © Worldwide copyrights, by Tahiti Zoom, Moorea