Kiwi Photographer's night-sky photos wow the world

Publish Date
Thursday, 15 June 2017, 4:15PM

Photographs of the New Zealand night sky are turning the heads of stargazers around the world.

Photographer Paul Wilson, who is based in Christchurch, has had his incredible snaps of the night sky shared by BBC Earth and is garnering thousands of likes on Facebook.

This mesmerising photo, taken at Cannibal Bay, has been shared more than 3000 times.

"Endless Universe" - (Swipe across!) This is a crop from a 360, with my mate @jackburdenimages trying to morph into a starfish, when I yelled do something and don't move this is what he went for. I usually shoot my astro panos at 50mm but with cloud rapidly approaching I went for 24mm to cover the area quicker. Shot at Cannibal Bay in The Catlins, New Zealand. ISO6400 / f2 / 20 seconds Canon 6D / Samyang 24mm / iPano panorama head This image is 15,000px on the long edge #tourtheplanet #heavenlyplanet #discoverglobe #awesomeearth #longexpoelite #longexposure #theglobewanderer #milkyway #earthofficial #purenewzealand #earthfocus #earthcapture #awesome_places #discoverearth #tentree #night_excl #fantastic_earth #awesome_photographers #night_shooterz #beautiful_places #landscapephotography #wonderful_places #longexposure_shots #ourplanetdaily #artofvisuals #milkywaychasers #eclectic_shotz #ourplanetdaily #master_gallery #moody_grams

A post shared by Paul Wilson (@paul_wilson_images) on

"There was some pretty awesome airglow on this night. With cloud rapidly approaching we had to be quick and get our shots in. Thirty minutes after this was taken it was completely overcast," Wilson wrote of the image.

"It's winter here when the Milky Way galaxy is at its most visible, meaning more dark hours to get out there and capture it," Wilson told the Herald last year.

Another factor was the lack of light pollution in the South Island, making it easier to capture the galaxy.

When I Heard the Learned Astronomer When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me, When I was shown the charts and diagrams, to add, divide, and measure them, When I sitting heard the astronomer where he lectured with much applause in the lecture-room, How soon unaccountable I became tired and sick, Till rising and gliding out I wander’d off by myself, In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time, Look’d up in perfect silence at the stars. by. Walt Whitman - 1900 AD #tourtheplanet #heavenlyplanet #discoverglobe #awesomeearth #longexpoelite #longexposure #theglobewanderer #milkyway #earthofficial #purenewzealand #earthfocus #earthcapture #awesome_places #discoverearth #poem #night_excl #fantastic_earth #awesome_photographers #night_shooterz #beautiful_places #landscapephotography #wonderful_places #longexposure_shots #ourplanetdaily #artofvisuals #milkywaychasers #eclectic_shotz #ourplanetdaily #master_gallery #moody_grams

A post shared by Paul Wilson (@paul_wilson_images) on

New Zealand is one of only three countries in the world to have a Gold Rated International Dark Sky Reserve - the Aoraki Mackenzie Dark Sky Reserve on the South Island.

This dark sky reserve is also the biggest in the world, and includes the Aoraki Mt Cook National Park and the villages of Lake Tekapo, Twizel and Mt Cook.

Although Wilson's nights are spent capturing the night sky, during the day he is a wedding photographer.

Source: NZ Herald.

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