The journey to the Southern Ocean with the Flight to the Lights 2 was granted with 6 hours and 40 minutes of auroras.
The second version of this attempt to see the auroras down south close to Antarctica with 150 local and international astronomical fans onboard. It was a 9.5 hours flight but with quite comfortable seats and interior as the airplane was a new Boeing 787 Dreamliner charted from Air New Zealand.
Timelapse from the flight
Starboard side (Right)
Before and after departure the flight received enormous amount of international attention as CNN, BBC news, New Zealand Herald and others highlighted through each media.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12018736
To keep this auroral voyage on record, I submitted few photographs and timelapse to the Japanese and international media and wrote couple of articles on the Japanese travel magazine’s website Chikyu-no-Arukikata.
Aurora Hunting in Dunedin – Flying south with the Flight to the Lights 2 (Part 1)
http://www.arukikata.co.nz/feature/local-report/dunedin/flight-to-the-lights-2-laterpart.html
Aurora Hunting in Dunedin – Flying south with the Flight to the Lights 2 (Part 2)
http://www.arukikata.co.nz/feature/local-report/dunedin/flight-to-the-lights-2-laterpart.html
For the comparison, this is a nice timelapse created by the Dunedin astronomer Dr. Stephen Voss from the first Flight to the Light in 2017 featured on CNN news.
It was a once in a lifetime event for all aurora fans happening for the second time, thanks to Dr. Ian Griffin, Dr. Stephen Voss, Brad Phipps and other Dunedin aurora enthusiasts who made this flight come true.