Aurora lights NZ night sky in red and green

Skywatchers in Hawke's Bay and parts of the South Island were treated to a bright green/red glow of the Aurora, according to the Carter Observatory in Wellington.

"It's just not fair! There was a strong auroral display last night visible as far as Hastings. This event was triggered by a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) from our star a couple of days ago," the Observatory posted on Facebook.

It said the AUrora wasn't expected to be as strong as it turned out to be.

"As it turned out the weather in Wellington, and most of NZ, was rubbish. A few in the South Island (and) around Hastings had clear skies and got to see the green/red glow of the Aurora," it said.

NASA said the sun unleashed a coronal mass ejection (CME) at 11:24 p.m. EDT on Oct. 4. but it was not expected to cause any problems on Earth.

CMEs are a phenomenon that can send solar particles into space and can reach Earth one to three days later, with the Aurora caused by the particles hitting Earth's atmosphere.

Experimental NASA research models showed the CME to be traveling at about 400 miles per second.

When Earth-directed, CMEs can disrupt electronic systems in satellites and on Earth, but the one that caused the Aurora over New Zealand had not generally caused major effects in the past, said NASA.

Did you see or photograph the Aurora?  Send pics to news@hbtoday.co.nz