The Franklin Park Zoo and Zoo New England brought back the Boston Lights exhibit for the third straight year to the Zoo, opening this past week and staying open through October. The incredibly vibrant lighting exhibits cover the entire 72-acre property and carry the topic of space exploration, nature, and conservation. Among the many highlights include a gigantic replica of the Solar System on the promenade, a massive octopus that visitors can walk under and a drum-operated interactive butterfly exhibit.

Zoo staff said the globes in the exhibit were all custom created for Boston Lights, and the space theme is brand new for this year. Seth Daniel photos

A colorful archway welcomed visitors to the night version of the Franklin Park Zoo – the Boston Lights exhibit, which will be up through October.

Colorfully lit butterflies and flowers dominated the pathways.

A lit-up Pufferfish huffed and puffed and blew out a plume of steam towards passers-by.

A massive octopus lit up the pathway as visitors walked underneath the ominous creature.

Flowers of all color and a pagoda showed brightly.