“The captain turned off the lights and voilà,” she said, and was able to capture the aurora rays as they rose in the sky.

After landing in Christchurch around midnight, Kennedy shared photos of herself on a public Facebook page called “Aurora Australis,” which has 33,300 members.

The photos soon garnered nearly 10,000 responses and hundreds of comments and shares, with many commenting to congratulate them on capturing the lights and saying they were jealous of the special occasion.

“I should have flown last night,” someone joked. “Note to self, book more flights,” wrote another.

One person said she spent two nights outside and “saw absolutely nothing,” but was pleased to hear that others had spotted the lights, too.

Several suggested Kennedy submit his photos to Air New Zealand’s in-flight magazine, Kia Ora warehouse.

What is Aurora Australis?

Auroras typically occur when the solar wind disrupts the magnetosphere, changing the trajectories of charged particles.

The particles then rise into the upper atmosphere and create vivid colors in the sky, such as green, pink, purple and red.

The Northern Lights are the most famous astronomical phenomenon, occurring within a radius of 2,500 km from the North Pole. Norway and Iceland are among the best places to see them.

The Northern Lights can be seen all year round, but are most common during the equinoxes in March and September, when long, dark nights increase the chance of seeing the lights.

Some of the best places to view the Northern Lights include Great Barrier Island (which is a Dark Sky Sanctuary), the Wairarapa Dark Sky Reserve, the Wai-iti International Dark Sky Park, and, as Kennedy discovered, while flying over the South Island.