Capture the Atlas has 25 winners in its Northern Lights Photographer of the Year competition. If that seems generous, the photo above, titled “The Hunt’s Reward” by Ben Maze is an image of the Aurora Australis, or Southern Lights, taken in Tasmania.
Captured in this image is a trifecta of astronomical phenomena that made for some of the best astrophotography conditions one can witness in Australia, namely, the setting Milky Way galactic core, zodiacal light, and of course, the elusive Aurora Australis. On top of this, a sparkling display of oceanic bioluminescence adorned the crashing waves, adding the cherry on top to what was already a breathtaking experience.
The photo below, “Turbulunce,” was captured by John Weatherby in Iceland.
The forecast on this night was for a solar storm, and it did not disappoint. After the first sign of green in the sky, the group decided to book it out to the Sólheimasandur plane wreck. It was a group effort, but we managed to light the plane from the inside with two colored LED lights that a participant brought. Hearing the group’s screams in the dark from seeing a KP6 aurora for the very first time was something I’ll remember for the rest of my life.
That's only two of the 25 fantastical images you can see and read about in the winner's gallery at Capture the Atlas. -via Kottke