The Starlight Highway sign is definitely one of the cooler signs to find on the road, and there is a good reason for it as you can see! The sign marks the entrance to the Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve, one of the most significant dark sky reserves on earth. This area of New Zealand, protected from the harsh lights that destroy our city skies, gives a view of the universe like no other and one that I have been fortunate enough to photograph. Captured in the image is the Milky Ways core region (located to the left of the sign), filled with gas, dust and active star forming regions.
You might notice a bright glow coming from below the sign, an incredible phenomenon known as Zodiacal Light, where sunlight is reflected off interplanetary dust that can create quite a spectacle in the morning or the evening skies. At the top of the frame, in the band of the Milky Way, standing prominently are the two bright pointer stars
Alpha and Beta Centauri.
