The Dark Night 黑夜

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Dark Sky of Tekapo

A few years ago, I traveled to New Zealand during Christmas, but only visited South Island because of time limit. From NYC to New Zealand, we transferred twice, crossed equator and International Date Line, arrived Christchurch airport more than 30 hours later. In the airport, there are many posters to warn the passengers not to bring fruits to New Zealand. They are very serious about their environments.

Rented a car at the airport, and drove a few more hours to the beautiful Lake Tekapo. New Zealand is rich, but our rental car was old and shabby, just like what I experienced in Alaska. The car we got was much older than that of Alaska. Actually, New Zealand reminds me Alaska in many aspects.

Lake Tekapo is a world class star gazing location because of its dark sky. In this era of light pollution, dark sky has become a luxury. I purchased photography equipments to shoot the stars before this trip: Canon 6D full frame camera, 24-105 F4 lens, and Gitzo Traveler tripod. Southern Cross, the Great Magellanic Nebula, and the Small Magellanic Nebula can never be seen in the north hemisphere.

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南半球的星空

几年前圣诞节期间去新西兰旅游。由于路途遥远，时间有限，只去了南岛。从纽约到新西兰南岛途中转机两次，飞越赤道和国际变更线，花费了三十多个小时才到达基督城(Christchurch)机场。机场入境排队的时候就看到很多宣传牌用英文和中文多次警告不得携带水果入境。新西兰对环境的保护是认真。

在机场租车，又开了几个小时夜宿美丽的Tekapo湖。新西兰是个富裕的国家，租到的车却是又老又破，还不便宜。这一点跟阿拉斯加有点像，只是车比阿拉斯加的还破旧的多。其实新西兰很多地方都像阿拉斯加。

Tekapo湖是很好的观星点。因为那里拥有世界级的黑夜。在这个光污染的时代，黑夜已经成了奢侈品。以前没有拍过星星，这次出发前按照拍星星的最低配置卖了一套摄影器材：佳能6D全幅相机，24-105 F4镜头，Gitzo Traveler三脚架。南十字，大小麦哲伦星云是北半球看不到的风景。

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Equator and International Date Line 飞越赤道和国际变更线

Field of South Island New Zealand
新西兰南岛的田野

Lake Tekapo 湖

Our Galaxy 我们的银河

The Great and Small Magellanic Nebula 大小麦哲伦星云

Lupinus polyphyllus, the wild flowers of New Zealand 新西兰野花

Morning of Lake Tekapo 清晨的Tekapo湖

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