A colourful display of aurora australis was visible across the country overnight, delighting night owls and early risers.
Photographer Grant Birley told 1News he managed to capture the tail end of the phenomenon from Waitoki, in north Auckland shortly before 5am.
“It was pretty strong all over — for those that had clear skies anyway,” he said.
In a post online, Birley said he missed “the best part between 1 and 3am”, but said there was still enough pink auroral glow to be captured.
“Not visible to the naked eye unfortunately, but easily seen in camera,” he said.
Other keen photographers posted their images from last night and early this morning online, with vivid colours captured in both the North and South Island.
In Queenstown, Darrin Evans snapped a picture from his bedroom window in Goldfield Heights at 2.45am.
Earlier this morning, Transpower declared a Grid Emergency in the South Island for a number of hours due to the onset of “a severe Geomagnetic Induced Current event”.
Across the ditch, ABC reports large parts of the southern Australian mainland and Tasmania were also treated to a spectacular light show overnight.
Mostly clear skies combined with a severe geomagnetic storm to produce a vibrant aurora australis that was clearly visible to the naked eye.
The latest event follows a busy 2024 for aurora watchers, with strong storms occurring throughout the year, highlighted by a cluster of sunspots in May.
