Skip to main content

Story: Ranginui – the sky

A comet above Mt Egmont and Parihaka

A comet above Mt Egmont and Parihaka

Auahi-roa and auahi-tūroa, meaning ‘long smoke trails’, were two names for comets. In this 1882 photograph, a comet’s trail can be seen over Mt Taranaki (Egmont) and the village of Parihaka.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library

Reference: 1/2-003184; F

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

All images & media in this story

How to cite this page

Rāwiri Taonui, Ranginui – the sky – Other members of the family of light, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/5183/a-comet-above-mt-egmont-and-parihaka (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Rāwiri Taonui, published 2 March 2009.

Comments

Simon Davis
23 May 2023
Please consider renaming this page https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/5183/a-comet-above-mt-egmont-and-parihaka He auahiroa kei runga ake o Parihaka me Taranaki Mounga (A comet above Parihaka and Taranaki Mounga)
Ian Cooper
01 March 2013
The comet in the photo was known as the Great September Comet of 1882, there had already been another Great Comet that year! The Great September Comet holds the record for being visible in broad daylight for the longest period, five days. This comet also has the distinction of being the first one ever photographed. The photo above is not one of them, this photo is in modern terms 'photo-shopped' to give the impression that was seen from Parihaka. In that respect the photo is very accurate.That is how the comet would have appeared rising from behind the mountain in September through until Christmas of 1882. The tail was not long but very brilliant in appearance. The top edge of the tail was described as being the most defined ever seen in any comet before or since. The Great September Comet of 1882 belongs to the famous Kreutz family of sungrazing comets. The Great Comet of 1965, Ikeya-Seki, and the Great Christmas Comet of 2011, Lovejoy, are more recnt members of that family to come into our view.