Source: Radio New Zealand
Supplied / Ian Griffin
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.
Send us your photos: iwitness@rnz.co.nz
Tūhura 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.
Last night’s display was particularly spectacular, he said, as two coronal mass ejections from the sun collided on their way to earth.
“[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.”
Under clear skies in Middlemarch, he said he was lucky enough to see beams converging overhead in what’s known as an “aurora corona”.
“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.”
Te Whatu Stardome astronomer Josh Aoraki in October told RNZ aurora could often be caught on camera, even when they were not visible to the naked eye.
“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.”
Unedited photo of Clifden Bridge, taken about midnight last night in Otautau. Edwin Mabonga / supplied
The further south you went – place like Twizel, Southland and Otago – the better the view. Spots with less light pollution worked best.
Supplied / Ian Griffin
Supplied / Ian Griffin
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. It was possible the lights could be seen again on Thursday night.
Many keen starspotters shared their photos of Wednesday’s light show with RNZ.
Shot from Middlemarch, Otago, about 11pm. Ian Griffin, Tūhura Otago Museum / supplied
Taken at Woodlands, Southland. Kelly Gladwin / supplied
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.
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.
Aurora as seen at Blackhead, Dunedin, between 10.40 and 11.15pm. Debbie Rutherford
Last week, the National Emergency Management Agency and other affected agencies ran through a test scenario of a solar storm response in the Beehive’s bunker, to make sure they are adequately prepared.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
