Aurora Australis: Traveller captures Southern Lights during flight to South Island

Rachel Kennedy captured the Aurora Australis during an Air New Zealand flight to Christchurch on Wednesday, September 17. Photo / Supplied

A traveller captured the incredible moment an Air New Zealand flight cruised past the Aurora Australis on Wednesday night.

Australian Rachel Kennedy had been chasing the elusive Southern Lights for a while and saw her first one in May. Seeing one from the air, however, was even more stunning.

“I had changed the seat on my flight to be on the right side of the plane just in case and had followed the Aurora forecasts for days,” said Kennedy, who had travelled from Melbourne to Christchurch for a work conference.

Sure enough, during Air New Zealand’s flight NZ216, they encountered the lights.

“My first few photos captured the green arc but not much more,” Kennedy said, adding that the cabin lights made it hard to see the Aurora Australis clearly.

“Captain turned off the lights and voila,” she said, and was able to capture the aurora beams as the peaked across the sky.

After landing in Christchurch around midnight, Kennedy shared her images with the public Facebook page “Aurora Australis” and its 33,300 members.

The images soon gained almost 10,000 responses and hundreds of comments and shares. Many commented congratulations on catching the lights and said they were envious of the unique opportunity.

“Should have been on a plane last night,” one person joked. “Note to self, book more flights,” another wrote.

One person said they spent two nights outside and saw “absolutely nothing” but were excited to hear others had spotted the lights.

Several suggested Kennedy submit her images to Air New Zealand’s in-flight magazine, Kia Ora magazine.

The Aurora Australis photographed from Waipapa Dam earlier this year. Photo / Paul Martin

What is the Aurora Australis?

Auroras typically happen when the magnetosphere is disrupted by solar wind that alters charged particle trajectories.

The particles then rise into the upper atmosphere and create vibrant colours in the sky such as green, pink, purple and red.

Northern Lights is the most famous aurora and occurs anywhere within a 2500km radius of the North Pole, making Norway and Iceland some of the best places to see it.

Sightings of the Aurora Australis can happen year-round but are most common during the equinoxes in March and September as the long, dark nights increase the odds of seeing the light.

Some of the best spots to see the Aurora Australis include Great Barrier Island (which is a Dark Sky Sanctuary), Wairarapa Dark Sky Reserve, Wai-iti International Dark Sky Park, or, as Kennedy discovered, on board a flight across the South Island.