Conditions ripe for aurora tonight

An aurora as seen from Papanui Inlet. Photo / Ian Griffin

Predictions of a "super massive" aurora did not eventuate last night but a massive solar flare has aurora chasers excited one could still be coming.

Otago Museum director and avid aurora chaser Dr Ian Griffin stayed up until 1am last night looking for aurora, but the "interstellar trafic jam" of material coming towards Earth from the sun did not arrive and overcast conditions hampered viewing.

But Mr Griffin remained excited, saying a big storm on the sun had sent a "bunch of material" hurtling towards Earth and it would llikely arrive in the next 12 to 24, creating good conditions for aurora.

"Even more interesting than that, last night at about 9pm there was an enormous solar flare.
"It was the biggest one in the last 10 years and that's fired a bunch of other material towards us too.

"It's all coming from this really fiery sun spot.

Bloody hell. massive solar flare on the sun. its throwing the kirchen sink at us right now! A few fun nights ahead! pic.twitter.com/B6bD03Y1tN

— Ian Griffin (@iangriffin) September 6, 2017

Weather conditions would likely be better than last night over the next few days and aurora watchers remained excited about the potential for good viewing.

Although there was a significantly larger solar storm than in May, there was a large moon in the sky which made it harder to see aurora.

In May there was no moon in the sky.

"It's really hard to predict when aurora is going to happen because it's a natural phenomenon.

MetService duty forecaster Tui McInnes said while conditions weren't likely to favour a glimpse of aurora over most of the country there was a possibilty of glimpses down south.

"Most places won't be cloud-free. There might be the possibility down south. There's probably just too much cloud about, especially high-level cloud.

"It's hard to say. There might be a few people who get a break in the clouds."

Looking for the aurora? While there will be less cloud around tonight, moon is 99.9% full, so not ideal for aurora spotting. Good luck! ^TA pic.twitter.com/BzicQM6CXX

— MetService (@MetService) September 6, 2017

There would have been little opportunity to catch a glimpse overnight as the country was covered in a "cloudy mess".

Those in the Northern Hemisphere are more likely to get a better view, according to the Space Weather Prediction Centre.

The sun emitted two significant solar flares on the morning.