Sprite Night - 142685
By: Grant Birley | https://www.instagram.com/chasing_horizonz_/
https://nzastrocompetition.com/new-zealand-astrophotography-competition-2024/nightscape-artistic/?cid=15&cac=submission&ctx=page&cm=1&sid=142685
On a recent week long trip down South I was aware of an incoming storm and so based myself in a location that was forecast for clear skies and possibly affording me an opportunity to capture the rather rare sprites. It involved a fair bit of planning and forecasting and luck. While I was hoping I would be lying if I said I was confident. There was a massive amount of lightning stretching the entire West Coast - from South to North - so once I knew I had a good vantage point I still had to pick which area I would target first. One area had the lightning flashing faster and brighter and so I targeted that area and captured my first sprite within seconds of set up. This image was captured later in the evening as the milky way was nearing the Western horizon and the sprites had moved to an area closer to the core. I also managed to capture a portion of a meteor leaving the frame to the bottom right.
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