“We went out with our cameras and shot a lot of photos.”
“From the naked eye, you can’t really see anything, and it’s not until you take the photos you can see it.”
She said she had seen other “great photos” from around the country, and was pleased they got to witness it.
“We stayed out for a while afterwards and sat there.”
Woodward described the experience as “pretty awesome”, and they went outside again on Saturday night but couldn’t see it.
Aurora are natural displays of coloured light, only visible at night. They are often observed in shades of blue, red, yellow, green and orange - which shift gently and change shape.
It is triggered by activity on the sun which sends charged particles moving across space.
These interact with the Earth’s magnetic field, which can lead to geomagnetic storms, which, in turn, can trigger dazzling auroras visible in our night skies.
In May, fascinated Kiwis collectively braced the cold to try to catch a glimpse or snap a picture of Aurora Australis’ lights sweeping across the country.
Hawke’s Bay set the scene for incredible video and photos, with skywatchers taking to iconic spots like Te Mata Peak and the Ātea a Rangi Star Compass to experience the wonder of it all.
The next nighttime sky spectacle for Kiwis is the chance to spot a comet with the naked eye that hasn’t been seen in our skies for 80,000 years.
Comet C/2023 A3 is expected to be visible to the naked eye in the western skies of the country from Tuesday until later in the week.
Michaela Gower joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2023 and is based out of the Hastings newsroom. She covers Dannevirke and Hawke’s Bay news and loves sharing stories about farming and rural communities.
