Otago Museum director and astronomer Dr Ian Griffin captured this six-second exposure in Hoopers Inlet at 11.09pm.
Dr Griffin said the colourful sky was a result of a storm caused by material from the sun interacting with the earth’s magnetic field that hit a couple of days ago.
"The sun goes through a cycle every 11 years and we’re heading up to the peak of that cycle in about a year or so's time, so we’re going to see more auroras like this in the next year or so which is quite exciting."
The glowing green and the red colours came from oxygen atoms.
Dr Griffin said anywhere that was dark with a good view of the south should provide some great visual displays in the coming months. The displays would continue for a year or so.