‘A perfect coincidence’: rare red lightning captured in New Zealand skies

Photographers capture extremely unusual phenomenon - also known as red sprites - against backdrop of the Milky Way

A trio of photographers in New Zealand have captured images of red sprites", or red lightning, one of the rarest light phenomena in the world, in which luminous crimson flashes appear in the sky.

New Zealand photographer Tom Rae and Spanish photographers Dan Zafra and Jose Cantabrana set out to shoot the Milky Way over the mrama Clay cliffs in the South Island on 11 October, when they chanced upon the extraordinary event.