This photograph of the southern lights or aurora australis, most commonly seen in southern New Zealand, was taken in September 2002 from Invercargill. It shows a typical red and green aurora, the nearly vertical rays tracing the earth’s magnetic field lines. The Māori name for Stewart Island, at the south of the South Island, is Rakiura, which means ‘glowing skies’. This may allude to the aurora australis, or simply to the dramatic southern sunsets.
Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi
Private collection
by Stephen Voss
This item has been provided for private study purposes (such as school projects, family and local history research) and any published reproduction (print or electronic) may infringe copyright law. It is the responsibility of the user of any material to obtain clearance from the copyright holder.