Video will play in Play now Don't auto playNever auto playAn Auckland self-described "aurora hunter" got the shot of a lifetime when he captured the Southern Lights over the Manukau Heads. Meanwhile, Canterbury photographer Ekant Veer managed to snap what he described as "by the biggest aurora australis display I've seen". The encounter came just a few weeks after cameraman Larryn Rae captured extraordinary pictures of the Aurora Australis in Auckland after heading out to the Waitakeres on a whim during a geomagnetic storm. The Aurora Australis is the result of particles in solar winds colliding with atmospheric gases. Its better-known cousin is the Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights, which draws millions of tourists to Nordic countries each year.

Source: New Zealand Herald April 23, 2017 00:58 UTC