People in Canada and New Zealand have been treated to a spectacle in the sky in the form of auroras after a strong solar storm hit earth earlier this week.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said a potent blast of magnetic plasma shot out of the sun on Sunday, travelling faster than usual, hitting Earth with the biggest solar storm since March, maybe since September 2005. Scientists said this increases the chances of fluctuations in the power grid and GPS. It also pushes shimmering polar auroras to places where more people can possibly see them.

People in New Zealand's South Island, and some parts of Australia, have been treated to the Aurora Australis, also called the Southern Lights.

The solar storm meant that the Aurora Australis, the southern counterpart of the Aurora Borealis, was visible much further north than it usually is. Aurorae occur when cosmic rays or solar wind interact with the earth's upper atmosphere.

The main and second photos, taken in Canada, show the Aurora Borealis, also known as the Northern Lights, begin to flare up with green, yellow and pink hues near the Vedauwoo Recreation Area late Monday night.

The third photo shows a red aurora as seen from the International Space Station and tweeted by astronaut Scott Kelly on Monday.