A striking aurora australis lit up night skies late on Tuesday (January 20), triggered by a severe solar storm. 

People around Central Otago shared images of green glows and shifting light bands, with some describing pulses of colour stretching across the southern horizon. 

The lights, commonly known as the southern lights, were reportedly seen as far north as Auckland. However, some of the clearest views were in Central Otago and Southland. 

Cromwell resident Tanya Dennis said she decided to take a chance on seeing the aurora after finishing work late, heading down to the lake at the Cromwell Heritage Precinct.

“It wasn’t planned, but I knew there was a chance of something magical,” she said.

“I watched the aurora dance across the sky...It was a private, humbling show, that left me in awe.”

The southern lights at the Cromwell Heritage Precinct on Tuesday, January 20, 2025. Image: Tanya Dennis

A short distance away in Lowburn, Lance Weatherall spotted the lights shortly after 11pm.

He said faint green bands were visible to the naked eye, along with “what looked like dust with sun shining on it” that “seemed to pulse”.

“It was bigger than I’d seen before, but not as pretty,” he said.

Across social media, other stargazers shared images showing vivid pink and purple hues captured on camera, with some reporting shimmering curtains of light visible without photographic equipment.

One Queenstown photographer said the strongest glow appeared between 1am and 3am.

According to the United States’ National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the display was driven by an “S4” severe solar radiation storm, the largest of its kind in more than 20 years.

The storm was caused by a coronal mass ejection - a massive burst of solar material and magnetic fields - that left the sun on Sunday and reached Earth’s magnetic field early on Tuesday.

Geomagnetic activity reached a Kp8 level on a scale of nine.

Space weather forecasters said the storm was now weakening, meaning the window for further aurora sightings is closing.

By Thursday night, geomagnetic activity is expected to drop to a Kp3 level, making naked-eye aurora sightings unlikely in Central Otago.

Photographers with specialised equipment may still capture a faint glow on the southern horizon if conditions are clear.

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