Aurora above New Zealand: More southern lights likely to dazzle tonight

Rachel Kennedy captured the Aurora Australis during an Air New Zealand flight to Christchurch in September. Photo / Supplied

New Zealanders may be treated to another dazzling night sky display, with the possibility of more aurora activity on the way.

A geomagnetic storm bound for New Zealand is bringing with it the possibility of more aurora activity.

Niwa Weather said, in a post online, the aurora might be visible in the lower North Island and the South Island tonight.

“There’s a chance that aurora activity is visible even farther north, depending on the intensity of the solar storm,” they said.

Clear skies are forecast across the central and northern North Island, but not in the east.

Niwa says the aurora aren’t generally visible with the naked eye, but can be seen by taking a long-exposure photo.

Rachel Kennedy captured the Aurora Australis during an Air New Zealand flight to Christchurch in September. Photo / Supplied

Aurora are natural displays of coloured light, only visible at night. They are often observed in shades of blue, red, yellow, green and orange - which shift gently and change shape.

Auroras are triggered by activity on the sun which sends charged particles moving across space. These interact with the Earth’s magnetic field, which can lead to geomagnetic storms, which, in turn, can trigger dazzling auroras visible in our night skies.

An aurora from Traquair Station near Lee Stream in Otago.

While Earth’s magnetic field shields us from particles from such storms, they’re known to cause problems for power grids by sending extra electrical current down transmission lines – as happened when a Dunedin transformer was knocked out in 2001.

The “Carrington Event” is the most powerful geomagnetic storm in recent times, occurring in 1859. If it occurred today, it would have caused widespread damage to gas and electricity networks, and railway signals.

Katie Oliver is a Christchurch-based Multimedia Journalist and breaking news reporter.