A stunning aurora lit up the night skies across southern New Zealand, with bright colours seen from places like Dunedin, Cromwell, Southland, and Mount Cook. The beautiful light display, known as the Aurora Australis, appeared overnight and drew crowds of excited stargazers.
People captured the glowing sky in photos taken from areas with little light pollution, such as Middlemarch, Ōreti Beach, McCracken’s Rest, and the Taieri Plains. The further south you were, the better the view.
Josh Aoraki, an astronomer at Te Whatu Stardome, explained that the aurora happens when energy from the sun interacts with Earth’s magnetic field. He said that even if it can’t be seen with the naked eye, cameras can often capture the colourful glow.
The recent aurora was caused by a G4 geomagnetic storm, one of the stronger kinds. As a safety step, Transpower, which manages the electricity grid, briefly took some South Island power lines offline to protect equipment. No one lost power during this event.
Transpower said New Zealand is well prepared for these kinds of space weather events and has a plan in place thanks to years of work with local and international experts.
Agencies even ran a special practice last week to test their response to a solar storm, making sure they’re ready to protect important systems if a major event happens.
