The Milky Way - New Zealand

Postcard NZ-146406 from New Zealand shows a view of the Milky Way from Down Under. According to an article from the Photography Roundtable, for people living in the Southern Hemisphere, the best time period to see and photograph the Milky Way is from February to October, as the galactic center of the Milky Way will not be visible from November to January.

For us in the Northern Hemisphere, the best time to see and photograph the Milky Way is between March and October with the galactic center in full view.

On a separate note, USPS released the Pluto—Explored! and Views of Our Planets Forever stamps during the first-day-of-issue dedication ceremony at World Stamp Show-NY 2016 on May 31, 2016. I was excited to purchase two sheets of the Views of Our Planets Forever stamps yesterday. However, to my disappointment, our local post offices had not ordered the Pluto—Explored! souvenir sheets. I will have to order them on-line.

Southern Cross, Southern Hemisphere

Postcard NZ-120658 from New Zealand shows the constellation Crux, also known as the Southern Cross, one of the 88 modern constellations that is circumpolar, meaning can always being seen, from Earth’s Southern Hemisphere. However, it can never been seen from Las Vegas as the Southern Cross never rises above the horizon. In the U.S., you have to travel to Hawaii, or South Florida or Texas where it is south to 26°N latitude for limited viewing opportunities.

New Zealand, Australia, Brazil, and Papua New Guinea and Samoa have featured the stars of Crux on their national flags.