NZ Astrophotography Competition 2024 - Trophy Winner

The Milky Way arching over the dramatic landscape of Aoraki Mount Cook National Park, captured during the once in a lifetime geomagnetic storm experienced in May 2024.
This aurora display was one of the most incredible things I’ve ever seen, a beautiful and intense evening watching the lights dance and paint the crystal clear sky above. The excitement was shared with everyone out under the stars that night, with the appearance of the aurora being potentially the strongest over the last century.
Featured in the image is a SAR (Stable Auroral Red) arc, a rare atmospheric phenomena joining the show alongside the glow of billions of other suns visible in our Milky Way Galaxy. This image was very technically challenging to pull off, but it presents as one of the most unique images of the aurora from here in New Zealand and a great memory of that ethereal night.