Invercargill and Bluff astro-photographers were among the people out and about last night (28 May 2017) when the Aurora Australis, the Milky Way and a newcomer called Steve put on a brilliant show that was seen throughout much of the South Island.

Steve is the mysterious vertical phenomenon appearing to pierce the Milky Way in the first image in the gallery; the awesome scene was captured by David Whelan at Awarua.

The second image was taken about 8.30pm by Bjorn Patterson on his Lumia 950 mobile phone. Despite the urban light pollution during a four second exposure (f1.9, ISO 3200) he also caught the strength and beauty of Sunday’s Aurora.

The remaining pictures are the work of Mario Leano. Picture No. 3 features Steve, the fourth was taken from Mario’s carport,  the fifth shot shows the Aurora’s reflection in Awarua Bay and the last image shows how the Aurora appeared from the estuary boardwalk.

 

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