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Photo: Supplied \/ Ian Griffin\n<\/p>\n
Keen stargazers could be in for another glimpse on an aurora that lit up skies at the southern end of the country on Wednesday night.<\/p>\n
Send us your photos: iwitness@rnz.co.nz<\/p>\n
T\u016bhura Otago Museum’s director Dr Ian Griffin told Midday Report the aurora was likely to be visible in the lower South Island again this evening.<\/p>\n
Last night’s display was particularly spectacular, he said, as two coronal mass ejections from the sun collided on their way to earth.<\/p>\n
“[It] really boosted the visibility of the aurora last night,” he said. “So those of us who were lucky enough to have clear skies, we got a pretty amazing display that pretty much went on from sunset, all the way through to the early hours of the morning.”<\/p>\n
Under clear skies in Middlemarch, he said he was lucky enough to see beams converging overhead in what’s known as an “aurora corona”.<\/p>\n
“Really worthwhile going out and looking at it,” he said. “There’s a good chance if the skies are clear tonight you might see another.”<\/p>\n
Te Whatu Stardome astronomer Josh Aoraki in October told RNZ<\/a> aurora could often be caught on camera, even when they were not visible to the naked eye.<\/p>\n “We’re currently in a pretty high activity period with our sun, and the aurora is a direct result of solar activity interacting with the Earth’s magnetic field.”<\/p>\n \nUnedited photo of Clifden Bridge, taken about midnight last night in Otautau. The further south you went – place like Twizel, Southland and Otago – the better the view. Spots with less light pollution worked best.<\/p>\n \n Photo: Supplied \/ Ian Griffin\n<\/p>\n \n Photo: Supplied \/ Ian Griffin\n<\/p>\n He said aurora were notoriously hard to predict in terms of how bright they would be, but people could keep an eye on the space weather forecast on the NOAA website<\/a>. It was possible the lights could be seen again on Thursday night.<\/p>\n Many keen starspotters shared their photos of Wednesday’s light show with RNZ.<\/p>\n \nShot from Middlemarch, Otago, about 11pm. \nTaken at Woodlands, Southland. Meanwhile, Transpower on Wednesday issued a grid emergency notice ahead of the G4 geomagnetic storm – which is the force behind the aurora – and took some South Island electricity transmission lines offline as a precaution to prevent damage to equipment.<\/p>\n Transpower said this kind of action was standard when space weather reached a particular level. A plan had been developed over several years through work with Otago University, international space agencies and others in the electricity industry.<\/p>\n \nAurora as seen at Blackhead, Dunedin, between 10.40 and 11.15pm. Last week, the National Emergency Management Agency and other affected agencies ran through a test scenario of a solar storm response<\/a> in the Beehive’s bunker, to make sure they are adequately prepared.<\/p>\n![\"Unedited](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/4JY0JW3_Unedited_photo_of_Clifden_bridge_takeb_about_midnight_last_night_in_Otautau_taken_by_Edwin_M.jpeg\")
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\nPhoto: Edwin Mabonga \/ supplied\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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\nPhoto: Ian Griffin, T\u016bhura Otago Museum \/ supplied\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\nPhoto: Kelly Gladwin \/ supplied\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\nPhoto: Debbie Rutherford\n<\/p>\n