Our Story
At the heart of our galaxy lies a mysterious dark patch against the dazzling backdrop of the fourty billion of stars forming the bulge of the Milky Way. This celestial landmark, known as the Dark Horse in the Northern Hemisphere, by an extraordinary coincidence, takes on the endearing shape of a Kiwi Bird when viewed from New Zealand—introducing the Milky Way kiwi.
The Milky Way Kiwi
The giant galactic kiwi bird was acknowledged in the 1980s when a group of enthusiastic astrophotographers taking photos of the night sky were looking for the Dark Horse asterism on the freshly developed film. Here, rather than anywhere else in the world, it was clear that what they were looking at was a kiwi bird. New Zealanders like their horses, too, but the Kiwi bird won this time. We know of the story from astrophotographer Ian Cooper. It is now known by a few names. Perhaps the most popular is the Galactic Kiwi, but we like to call it the Milky Way Kiwi.
The Centaurus - Crux region
In addition to the Kiwi in the Milky Way, our logo features the iconic stars of the Southern Cross and Centaurus. We love looking at that region during our Star Safari experiences, as it is spectacular. These stars hold a special place in the New Zealand sky. They are circumpolar—always visible, spinning their celestial magic like a silent clock of the heavens, a reassuring presence in our ever-changing world.
Our kiwi bird is nestled at the core of the Milky Way. Perched atop its head, like a crown, is Sagittarius A*—the supermassive black hole at the centre of our galaxy. The curious Milky Way Kiwi gazes at the stars of the Southern Cross, which, alongside Centaurus, form the one and only New Zealand asterism known as “the Fish in the Frying Pan”—you can spot these stars within our logo. These stars are iconic celestial symbols for New Zealand, telling the story of our unique connection to the stars above.
Our Star Safari logo is a registered trademark.
Our company - Milky-Way.Kiwi
During the International Year of Astronomy, 2009, Hari created New Zealand’s first Astrophotography magazine. As she interviewed famous Kiwi astrophotographers, she thought it was only fit to name the publication Milky Way Kiwi. After all, if we love to look up, we are all Kiwis of the Milky Way in New Zealand or elsewhere in the world. The magazine morphed into a space and astronomy blog – with the same name – Milky-Way.Kiwi, now our company’s official name.
Since we embarked on our full-time careers as space science communicators, we’ve been on a journey to create two extraordinary experiences. The first, Star Safari, offers a magical night under the stars at our Wairarapa Dark Sky Reserve, home to the Star Safari Observatory. The second, SpacewardBound.NZ, takes us to schools, where we bring the marvels of space to life with our portable planetarium, mini Mars rovers, and astrobiology analog experiences, offering space science lessons to teachers and students.
It is the best job ever, and we can’t wait to share what we learned about the mysteries of the cosmos and life in the Universe with you. We look forward to meeting you.
Hari and Sam
