While photographing the dark skies of New Zealand last weekend, the sky aligned for Dan Zafra as he captured sprites of lightning visible in front of the Milky Way’s galactic core.
Zafra, known for its website capture atlassays this may be the first time that a rare and elusive lightning sprite has been photographed with the southern hemisphere Milky Way Galaxy in the same frame.
“On the night of October 11, I was shooting under very clear skies when I noticed a faint glow on the horizon from a distant storm over the Southern Alps,” explains Zafra. petapixel,
“At first, they looked like normal lightning, but after a few test shots, I realized my camera was capturing red sprites.”
Zafra explains that red sprites are brief, massive electrical discharges that reach heights of 90 kilometers (56 mi) during thunderstorms.
“They are almost impossible to see with the naked eye and they last only a few milliseconds,” he adds. “Even storm chasers who spend their lives chasing lightning in places like Oklahoma or Texas can go years without seeing lightning.”
Zafra calls his experience “truly remarkable”, and it was made even more magical by the Milky Way’s galactic core lining up perfectly behind the sprites.
He added, “It was one of those moments when you know you’re seeing something you’ll probably never see again.”
When Zafra took the photos he was located on the Clay Cliffs on New Zealand’s South Island. they used one Sony A7 IIIA Sony GM 24mm f/1.4 To catch the shot. The foreground is a two-minute exposure, blended with a 10-second sky exposure.
“I also created a timelapse video that shows these sprites flashing in real time. Since they only last for a fraction of a second, the video shows how sudden and powerful they are,” says Zafra.
Red sprites are one of the rarest and least understood natural light phenomena. They were first recorded on camera in 1989, and only a few photographers The world has captured them in great detail.
They occur over powerful storms when positive lightning discharges reach the ionosphere. Catching them requires a mixture of perfect conditions, patience and a lot of luck.
“Watching them move across the sky was mesmerizing,” says Zafra. “The video adds another layer of perspective, revealing how these short-lived bursts of energy connect Earth’s atmosphere to space in the blink of an eye.”
Zafra says that to the best of his knowledge, this is the first time that a red sprite has been documented together with a southern hemisphere galaxy. The Aurora Australis can also be seen as a faint glow.
“This shows how fleeting weather events and timeless cosmic structures can align in the same frame,” Zafra says. “These are moments like these that remind me why I spend so many nights under the stars.”
petapixel Zafra’s nights under the stars have been featured before: earlier this year, he took an excellent shot of Lunar eclipse with aurora lights.
More photography by Dan Zafra is available here capture atlas‘ website, FacebookAnd Instagram,
Image Credit: All photos by Dan Zafra
