Aurora chasers have seized the opportunity to capture a stunning display of the Southern Lights over Tasmania on Friday night.
A break in severe weather conditions meant the aurora australis was visible from around 9pm, with vibrant pink, green, yellow and red hues illuminating the night sky.
“Saw the alerts and decided to brave the windy weather and was surprised at the lovely colour,” one photographer shared online.
“Left for home when I saw a bit of lightning about. Better safe than struck by lightning.”
Another shared the story of a couple from Brazil who had just arrived in the country and were “straight off the plane” to capture their first ever aurora.
The vibrant phenomenon is known as aurora australis in the southern hemisphere and aurora borealis in the northern hemisphere.
Large expulsions of plasma and magnetic field from the sun’s corona, also known as coronal mass ejections (CMEs), cause it.
“Auroras can occur at any time of year but are most likely to occur during March and September, which is when the Earth’s magnetic field is best oriented to interact with the solar wind,” the Bureau of Meteorology says.
“To see an aurora, you need a dark night with little cloud cover. Bright auroras usually last for 1–3 hours and the best viewing time is usually between 10pm and 2am.”
The Bureau issues an Aurora Watch notice online when solar wind conditions “look favourable”.
