‘A perfect coincidence’: rare red lightning captured in New Zealand skies

Three photographers from New Zealand and Spain captured images of rare red lightning, known as red sprites, while shooting the Milky Way over the Ōmārama Clay cliffs in the South Island on October 11. The event was a coincidence, with photographer Tom Rae spotting the phenomenon by chance. Red sprites are brief bursts of electrical energy that shoot upwards towards the upper atmosphere, creating forms that resemble columns or jellyfish. The photographers used technical expertise and creative flair to capture the images, which show the red sprites dancing above a storm hundreds of kilometres away. This event is considered rare, with no other known images showing red sprites and the southern hemisphere Milky Way in one frame.

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