Will the aurora lights be visible tonight?

An intergalactic solar storm drew keen Kiwis out of their homes for the second evening of stargazing last night.

The cloudless night meant the country had better viewing of the striking red sky, where the Aurora Australis phenomenon could be viewed with the naked eye.

Bay of Plenty locals also braced chilling temperatures this morning - as Rotorua recorded the second coldest May temperature today since 1972 at -3.3C.

Stargazers were crossing their fingers the views would be the same tonight as the Bay of Plenty region had forecasted clear skies for some of the night.

MetService meteorologist Clare O’Connor couldn’t say whether the solar storm would continue tonight but recommended viewers to look earlier in the evening, from after sunset to about 9pm.

“It will gradually become cloudier towards midnight so you have a better chance of seeing it if you’re out early,” she said.

Clouds were coming from the west, so Whakatāne and towns further east could expect to see the solar flare for longer.

President of the Astronomy Society David Grieg said it was a “fantastic” and “awesome thing” to have checked off his list.

Watching from Pyes Pa, he said red glow beams peaked at 8.45pm but also flared up at 12.15am, 12.30am and 2.30am.

He compared watching auroras to fishing, as it was a long but worthwhile waiting game.

The Southern lights were the result of charged particles from the sun coming close to the earth and challenging its magnetic field.

“The particles interact with the atmosphere and those interactions release energy which can be seen through the colour displays in the sky,” MetService’s O’Connor said.

The aurora season could be predicted through the sun’s 11-year cycle, with the peak of the current cycle due next year.

O’Connor said last night was the most “dramatic” and “uncommon” aurora she had witnessed.

She was surprised at the red colour of the sky, as past auroras she had witnessed in the South Island had been a pale green colour.

This was due to its strength. Light displays don’t often reach the North Island, but with last night’s sky were seen as far north as Northland.

Darkness, minimal cloud cover and the charged particles interacting with the earth were all needed for the geomagnetic storm to be viewed by the naked eye.

“You’re best to go to an unobstructed view where you can see southward – most phones will have a compass if you’re not quite up to date with what north or south is, and ideally you want to leave the city lights behind you.”

At about 6.30am this morning, Rotorua was recorded to have the second-coldest temperature of the month for 50 years at minus 3.3 degrees, with Tauranga at 3.3 degrees.

While the Bay of Plenty region could expect warmer but still frosty mornings on Monday and Tuesday, seasonally average temperatures would return after that.

Tonight, Tauranga could expect a minimum of 6 degrees, Rotorua at 3 degrees and Whakatāne 2 degrees.

Harriet Laughton is a multimedia journalist based in the Bay of Plenty.