Vivid Aurora Australis Light up Night Skies in Spectacular Display

A photographer takes pictures of the Aurora Australis, also known as the Southern Lights, as it glows on the horizon over waters of Lake Ellesmere on the outskirts of Christchurch on April 24, 2023. Sanka Vidanagama/AFP via Getty Images

New Zealand’s night sky lit up with streams of pink and green, treating viewers to a spectacle of the Aurora Australis.

The lights, visible to the naked eye, were seen across the southern island, all the way up north to Wellington and Hawke’s Bay.

Kiwis rushed to social media to share the sights, which was caused by a significant G4 level geomagnetic storm.

“The Aurora Australis danced over the Tasman last night towards the upper North Island as the magnetosphere continued to be bombarded by the incoming solar wind,” Hauraki Gulf Weather wrote on Twitter.

The Aurora Australis, also known as the Southern Lights, glow on the horizon over waters of Lake Ellesmere on the outskirts of Christchurch on April 24, 2023. Sanka Vidanagama/AFP via Getty Images

One photographer, Natalie Crowther, has been chasing for a shot of the phenomenon for 10 years. Last night, she was finally able to photograph the lights over Lake Ellesmere.

“It was just joy. Lots of joy,” she told the NZ Herald. “I messaged my mum and said ‘I feel like I’m gonna cry,’ it was so amazing to see.”

After the skies darkened, Crowther said she began seeing “weird fog curtains” and vertical pink beams of light that was constantly changing.

“The first time I saw [an aurora] was when I was 18 years old. Now everyone is out taking photos of it,” she said. “People were on the hill trying to capture it—but not knowing what direction to look.”

The Aurora Australis, also known as the Southern Lights, glow on the horizon over waters of Lake Ellesmere on the outskirts of Christchurch on April 24, 2023. Sanka Vidanagama/AFP via Getty Images

Across the ditch, the lights were also visible to early risers in Southern Victoria in a rare display, which are usually only seen in Australia’s southernmost state of Tasmania.

Abby Burleigh, a dairy farmer in Nullawarre, said it took her by surprise.

“I was at the dairy feeding calves. I looked and had to have a double look,” she told ABC. “I thought I was seeing things.”

Senior meteorologist at the Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BOM), Dean Narramore, told ABC that people may be in luck for a second viewing of the aurora tonight.

“We are expecting these conditions to continue until this evening,” he said. “You may be able to see it from Tasmania and coastal parts of Victoria tonight, but it looks to be weaker.”

Increasing Number of Aurora Sights

Both the Aurora Australis (Southern Lights) and the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) have become increasingly active.

The BOM explains that Auroras are the result of the collision of charged particles from the Earth’s magnetosphere and atoms in the upper atmosphere, which come from sun activity.

“These charged particles are accelerated down magnetic field lines towards the Earth’s atmosphere in regions around the poles known as ‘auroral ovals,’” the bureau said.

“The different colours visible in auroras depend on the atoms that participate in the collisions and the interactions that occur with the charged particles.”

An aurora borealis, also known as the northern lights, in the night sky near Washtucna, Wash., in the early morning hours of April 24, 2023. Ted S. Warren/AP Photo

The sun goes through a magnetic cycle every 11 years, and it is currently approaching the height of its current cycle, known as the solar maximum, when there will be an increase in solar activity.

With increased solar activity, there is more solar flare energy which also means more auroras.

The most recent solar storm has caused skies to change colour across not only New Zealand and Australia, but also in the UK, Europe, and the United States.

In the UK, skies turned purple, with the Met Office expecting further solar activity tonight.