New Zealand photographer scales 100m into glow-worm cave to shoot award-winning night-sky panorama

New Zealand-based astrophotographer Tom Rae rappelled about 100 meters into a glow‑worm–lit cave to capture a long‑exposure, star‑tracked night‑sky panorama that won first place in the Capture the Dark 2026 contest's Creatures of the Night category; the shot was filmed, and Rae spoke of challenging humidity and cave lighting.