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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
World
Eva Corlett in Wellington

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

Photographer Dan Zafra captured the extremely rare phenomenon of 'red sprites' flashing over the Ōmārama Clay cliffs near Twizel, in the South Island on 11 October.
Photographers Tom Rae, Dan Zafra and José Cantabrana captured the red sprites – or red lightning - when shooting the Milky Way in New Zealand. Photograph: Dan Zafra

A trio of photographers in New Zealand have captured images of “red sprites”, or red lightning, one of the rarest light phenomena in the world, in which luminous crimson flashes appear in the sky.

New Zealand photographer Tom Rae and Spanish photographers Dan Zafra and José Cantabrana set out to shoot the Milky Way over the Ōmārama Clay cliffs in the South Island on 11 October, when they chanced upon the extraordinary event.

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