One of New Zealand’s biggest drug busts uncovered, the new policy threatening 20 years behind bars for Kiwis in Bali and Florida braces for another ferocious storm.
Southland and Otago residents have been treated to colourful skies as Aurora Australis lights up the skies with purple, blue and pink streaks.
People were given a rare glimpse into the mechanics of the sun and its effects on our planet after the solar flares caused the colourful display lastnight.
Solar flares are powerful bursts of radiation and energy blasted from the Sun’s surface when built-up magnetic energy is suddenly released.
They often happen near sunspots, where the Sun’s magnetic fields are particularly strong.
Southern Aurora. Photo taken at Traquair Station near Lee Stream, Otago.
The Aurora Australis as seen from the Tauranga Train Bridge. Photo / Debbie Maguigan
Aurora colours over North Dunedin last night. Photo / Riley Clark
Particularly when such flares are accompanied by coronal mass ejections, they can release massive clouds of charged particles, or plasma, that travel through space and interact with Earth’s magnetic field.
This activity can lead to geomagnetic storms, which, in turn, can trigger dazzling auroras visible in our night skies.
The flare comes as a team of Kiwi scientists have been working with the energy sector on a $15 million project aimed at preparing for a much larger event than May’s – a so-called “solar tsunami”.
The most powerful solar tsunami in recent times – the 1859 “Carrington Event” - could have caused widespread damage to gas and electricity networks, and railway signals, if it happened today.
