A few months ago we ran into a camera-toting tourist at St Clair Beach and after a quick chat he explained that he was here to photograph Aurora Australis. He was here for six months to catch the elusive light show in action.
Until then we didn't really know a lot about the aurora in our backyard or even the fact that Dunedin is one of the best places in the world to view the southern lights. Then we stumbled upon an app with aurora alerts, real-time aurora maps and a whole group of photographers and aurora chasers based in the south and dedicated to capturing this enchanting phenomenon. They aren't really that elusive afterall.
And so for the past few months we have jumped to action at the first hint of a coronal mass ejection (that's a flare from the sun, also known as a CME). Mostly, we have failed to catch them in action, but on Wednesday night we were out shooting the sunset when an alert bounced through. Moments later we had managed to photograph our first ever aurora from Blackhead Beach (see below).
As you read this report the Australian Space Forecast Centre has predicted a series of CMEs to be visible in the sky tonight and tomorrow night. To see your first aurora, just head to a dark area (the less street lights the better) with an unobscured view to the south. Good luck!
Beautiful waves around the beaches this past week – most of which we missed while we put this new film together on Hawkes Bay trail runner Ruby Muir.
Lots of strong wind in the forecast this week and not a lot in the right direction – should be a few sneaky waves in sheltered corners if you're savvy. Maybe get into R&R Sport and check out the new season wetties instead.
See you out there ...
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