The other main factors we need to consider are daylight and clouds. No matter how strong the solar wind is, we will not be able to see the Aurora during daylight hours. If there are lots of clouds in the sky, those too will block the light being emitted from the particles in our atmosphere as they absorb the charged particles from the Sun carried by the solar wind. That being said, a partially cloudy sky with an Aurora can be spectacularly beautiful.

The moon can make a difference, however, some of the most impressive Aurora’s we’ve seen have been when there is a large moon in the sky. We always say that stargazing is simply different around the Full Moon, and our Unistellar eVscope allows us to view deep space objects just as well as we can during the New Moon phase. The Moon illuminates the landscape in the most majestic way, adding a different dimension again. Our camera allows us to see fairly faint Aurora Australis.

When it comes to naked eye viewing, this all depends upon how strong the Aurora is, which is very much to do with the density of particles carried by the solar wind, the speed they are traveling at, and then the strength of the magnetic field around our planet. The sensitivity of our eyes makes a difference too, this changes as we spend more time in a dark environment. We find that after 10 minutes of darkness, you see lots more, after half an hour or so, the difference is staggering. Often we’ll see gray shapes and regions to the South, and then as the strength of the Aurora increases, we start to see colours. When we collect the photons emitted from the particles in the atmosphere using our camera, over the course of 10 seconds or so, the colours and structure become much more visible. Once you’ve seen the images from the camera, seeing it in the sky with your naked eye becomes easier. We’ve tested this, it’s not just us, so many of our guests agree. This truly is a remarkable experience.

We keep our eye on Space Weather almost as much as we do on terrestrial weather. One of the main advantages to our AuthenticAs Starry Night Adventures is that we are mobile, and our DOC concessions allow us an incredible choice of locations that we can run tours from. If it looks like there is going to be some Auroral activity during your Starry Night Adventure, we will use our camera to monitor the Southern Horizon during the tour, and then if it does make an appearance, we’ll stop what we’re doing and take your portraits.

The term ‘Aurora Hunting’ can be a confusing one at times. The Aurora Australis will always appear with a higher concentration around the Magnetic South Pole, so in essence, if we go ‘hunting’ we’re simply visiting different locations that have views to the Southern Horizon, or we’re chasing gaps in the clouds. 

If this is something you would like to do, we can certainly guide you on your hunt. We do advise that you book the ‘Little bit Extra’ option which will give us more time together, and if the Aurora appears, then we can exchange the stargazing time and use that to visit other locations so we can capture different photographs of you and the display in the sky.

There’s much talk of Aurora seasons, this applies more to higher latitude locations where night time almost disappears for a few months of the year. For us, during the mid Summer months, we only have a few hours of true darkness available, but  it gets dark enough to see Auroral activity and we certainly don’t mind staying up late. Statistically, there is apparently more Auroral activity around the times of the Equinoxes, however some of the strongest Aurora’s we’ve seen have been near the Solstices.

In essence, the best way to see an Aurora, is to be outside, under a dark sky with a good view to the Magnetic South.

The Southern Night Sky, as seen from the Queenstown and Southern Lakes Region is absolutely incredible. Our Starry Night Adventures are incredibly popular with our guests, and if the Aurora appears, that really is the icing on an extremely enjoyable cake.