Spirals of blue light in New Zealand night sky leave stargazers ‘kind of freaking out’

A spiral of blue lights as seen from Stewart Island/Rakiura, New Zealand, on Sunday. Theories on social media about its origins ranged from aliens to foreign rockets to commercial displays. Photograph: Alasdair Burns/Twinkle Dark Sky Tours

New Zealand stargazers were left puzzled and awed by strange, spiralling light formations in the night sky on Sunday night.

Around 7.25pm Alasdair Burns, a stargazing guide on Stewart Island/Rakiura, received a text from a friend: go outside and look at the sky. “As soon as we actually went outside, it was very obvious what it was he was referring to,” Burns said.