On Saturday evening, New Zealanders across the country were treated to a spectacular show of aurora activity with vivid colourful skies after material spat out of a huge spot on the sun and into Earth’s magnetic field.
Stunning views of the aurora australis brought people flocking to southern beaches to get a glimpse of the rare and spectacular phenomenon on Saturday night.
Traffic was heavy around St Clair and St Kilda beaches as sightseers thronged the area and coastline taking photos.
Otago Daily Times readers have been sending in their snaps of the lights dancing in the sky from locations across the South.
"I cannot wipe this smile off my face, such an amazing thing to see", Makayla Evans, of Cromwell, said.
James Hustler managed to take a spectacular time-lapse video of the aurora as his plane landed at Christchurch Airport from Melbourne.
Astronomer Ian Griffin, from Tūhura Otago Museum, said New Zealand had been the first to get a front-row seat.
He watched the Aurora from a vantage point at Lake Aviemore.
"It was extraordinary; the sky was red and green and full of lights; and with the reflections in the lake and not many cars going by, it was something to behold.
"There’s been an enormous sun spot firing explosion after explosion which have been interacting with the Earth’s magnetic field.
"It’s produced definitely the best aurora since 2003.
"Something of this scale is incredibly rare; so it was a pretty big night. It was a solar tsunami."
Dr Griffin said more auroras were likely to be visible over the coming weeks and months.
"Get your cameras ready to go; we may well see some more over the next few days.
"This sun spot has been really, really active.
"The next six months or so could see more auroras visible, so if you missed out over the weekend, you’ll definitely get another chance."
The weekend’s aurora was particularly surprising for how visible it was to the naked eye, he said.
"A lot of auroras you can only see in the camera, but [on Saturday evening], the whole sky was red.
"My wife could see it from the garden at Portobello. [Saturday evening’s] show was absolutely special", Dr Griffin said.
"I think people will remember it for years to come."
