Incredible auroras delight stargazers in New Zealand | Space photo of the day for June 2, 2025

Waves of ionized gas glowing yellow, white and magenta filled the sky in New Zealand, as spectators take photos and witness the “southern lights” spectacle.

What is it?

Aurora Australis, or the “southern lights,” occurs when particles ejected from the sun interact with Earth’s atmosphere in the Southern Hemisphere (in the Northern Hemisphere, the phenomenon is called aurora borealis or the northern lights).

In this case, a strong geomagnetic storm, stemming from a coronal mass ejection (CME) impact on June 1, resulted in this sky show. The yellow, white and magenta hues are set off by the different types of gas molecules. For example, nitrogen particles set off the magenta or purple-red waves as seen in this photo.

Where is it?

The photo was taken near Lake Ellesmere in Lincoln, New Zealand, near Christchurch.

Why is it amazing?

This particular light show was not confined to New Zealand or the southern hemisphere. The strong geomagnetic storm behind the aurora affected areas across the globe, including in the Northern Hemisphere as far south as New Mexico and California.

Geomagnetic storms are ranked in strength on a 1 to 5 scale. Sunday’s (June 1, 2025) storm was categorized a G4.

Want to learn more?

You can read more about aurora and the storm that resulted in this photo.