For this task students are asked two questions about early Polynesian navigation. Students need to identify features of the environment that explorers would have used to navigate home and to find new land.
This practical task requires students to use a simple star map to point out the apparent location of stars or star groups during daylight hours. Students also use the star map to show where the Southern Cross would be situated at different times of an evening.
Students plot the positions for three different stars at three different times during the evening. Students use this information to answer questions about star movement around the South Celestial Pole.
Students are provided with two star maps as seen from Wellington at two different times of the year. Students are asked to explain why the stars on the map appear in different parts of the sky depending on the time of the year.