A magnificent Aurora Australis has shimmered over New Zealand's night sky
Otago Museum director Ian Griffin, who is a keen aurora chaser, told RNZ there was a fabulous display of the Southern Lights over Hoopers Inlet in Dunedin Harbour.
"We've had beams, we've had, on thecamera at least, lots of different colours, purples and green. The sky has been full of rays, so it's been pretty spectacular."
The various colours are caused by atoms in the atmosphere glowing at different altitudes, he said.
"There was a tremendous explosion on the Sun a few days ago and that raced across the Solar System and it hit the Earth's magnetic field today ... and auroras have been seen all over the world [today], all the way from Scotland right down to southern New Zealand."
