Amazing photos of the Aurora Australis have been taken on Wellington’s south coast and in Hamilton.
Chris Harrington-Lines took pictures on Sunday from Oku Reserve in Island Bay. He called it an “unbelievable night” and was glad he went out after getting an alert from an app at 9pm. He almost gave up twice but decided to stay until 2am when the lights appeared again.
Just a little further along the coast, Jeff Ng also captured the aurora from Ōwhiro Bay. Tania Wilkinson took pictures in Hamilton, saying, “It’s not often we see the aurora from Hamilton. It was cold at 3 am, but I was happy to see it with my camera.” She was in Rukuhia at 3:30am.
In the South Island, Stéphane Dussau took photos of the aurora from Cape Foulwind on the West Coast.
The Aurora Australis, or Southern Lights, happens when the sun interacts with Earth’s atmosphere. This occurs when particles from the sun hit Earth’s magnetic field, causing a geomagnetic storm, also known as a “solar storm.”
According to astronomer Daley Panthagani, “When energised particles reach Earth’s magnetic field, they go toward the poles and meet gases in the upper atmosphere, creating colorful lights in the sky.”
The lights closer to the North Pole are called Aurora Borealis, while in the southern hemisphere, we see Aurora Australis. Occasionally, the Southern Lights can be seen as far north as Auckland, but experts say it is less likely.
Aurora Australis can be seen at any time of year.
