School set to track meteors
By David Hill, Local Democracy Reporter
North Canterbury amateur astronomers are set to help in the tracking of space rocks as they fire through the earth’s atmosphere above Canterbury.
Oxford Area School has joined a nationwide network of meteor trackers by installing a fireball-tracking camera above the entrance to its observatory.
Observatory volunteer Raul Elias-Drago said the camera was up and running and he could remote access it from his home.
There was just a technical issue to overcome, as it appeared the school’s firewall was preventing the uploading of images to the internet.
"It is exciting. You think - wow! It’s mounted, the hard work is done and now it is just a matter of resolving the IT," Mr Elias-Drago said.
The camera was pointing towards the celestial south pole, away from possible light pollution.
Observatories and schools throughout New Zealand were already part of the network with cameras installed.
The Canterbury Astronomical Society has mounted a camera at its observatory at West Melton, near Christchurch, which is pointing west, away from the Christchurch city lights.
The cameras captured the night sky on clear nights, being triggered by bright flashes.
Camera data was uploaded each day to the istrastream.com/rms-gmn/?country=NZ |Global Meteor Network|.
With enough cameras pointing at the night sky, it was possible to triangulate the trajectory, speed and mass of a space rock speeding through the Earth’s atmosphere.
This led to finding a meteorite in Dunedin last year.
It is believed that several meteorites landed in New Zealand each year, although only nine have been documented in the last 160 years.
The cameras were also capable of identifying meteor showers, with one camera capturing 400 meteors in one night last year.
Elias-Drago said the school hoped to use the images in science classes once the camera was fully operational.
Observatory volunteers were planning an event to mark the launch of the meteor camera next month.
Poll: Do you think banning gang patches is reasonable?
With the government cracking down on gangs, it is now illegal for gang members to display their insignia in public places whether through clothing or their property.
This means arrests can be made if these patches are worn in places like restaurants, shops, on public transport or ferries, and on airplanes. Arrests were made recently at a funeral.
Do you think this ban is reasonable?
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77.3% Yes
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21.8% No
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0.9% Other - I'll share below
Canterbury kura expansion finally begins
By David Hill, Local Democracy Reporter
There is a sense of relief at Waimakariri’s only Māori immersion school, as work on its expansion finally begins.
Te Kura o Tuahiwi, which sits between Kaiapoi and Rangiora, is set to receive six new classrooms and a new hall to support its growing school roll.
Board of trustees chairperson Charlie Agi said the build has taken years of planning.
Work had been due to get under way last December, but was put on hold while the Ministry of Education reviewed 352 building projects.
‘‘It has come a long way,’’ Agi said.
‘‘To see the work of past members of the board have put in to get to this point, it is amazing. It is awesome.
‘‘The board has shown some resilience to keep pushing.’’
Ministry of Education spokeswoman Sandra Orr said the new classrooms include four for roll growth and the replacement of two classrooms.
The classrooms are being manufactured offsite and will be open for the beginning of term two next year, with the hall due to open in term four.
Principal Dot Singh said the delays have been frustrating, but she is excited for her tamariki to have new classrooms.
‘‘When I came in (two years ago) we were doing the planning and then we were told they were changing the plans, and then it was going ahead - and then it stopped,’’ Singh said.
She said she then wrote a two-page letter to the ministry and to Education Minister Erica Stanford to emphasis the school’s special character.
The school is the only kura between Christchurch and Kaikōura ‘‘to meet the needs of whānau who want immersion and bilingual education’’.
The kura has a roll of 179 pupils, with another 22 already pre-enrolled for this term and the beginning of next year.
The hall is designed to hold 250 people, meaning the kura will finally be able to hold full school assemblies, prizegivings and indoor sports.
‘‘Our tamariki love basketball,’’ Singh said.
The kura regularly supports the marae across the road by hosting people on site before they are welcomed on to the marae.
‘‘When the Māori Queen visited last month, they all assembled here before they went over to the marae.’’
Having the hall will provide the option of hosting visitors indoors, and allowing sports to continue in the winter and when it is raining, she said.
Singh said the extra space will also allow the kura to offer a Te Puna Reo group (pre-school) for 4-year-olds to help them to prepare for school.
■ LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
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