Aurora australis thrills light show chasers
Australian stargazers enjoyed a brilliant show Sunday night, with auroras illuminating the dark winter sky with pink and green hues.
In areas as far north as Tamworth in New South Wales, clear skies aligned with a geomagnetic storm to show off a vibrant aurora australis that was visible to the naked eye.
Astronomer Fred Watson said it was "quite unusual to see the aurora this far north", and that a particularly strong solar storm was behind its visibility.
Auroras are caused by geomagnetic storms, which in turn, are triggered by ejections of material from the Sun into space.
In a geomagnetic storm, atoms of oxygen and nitrogen in the atmosphere emit the bright, colourful lights that create auroras.
"The more active the energy is, the closer to the equator it can be seen," Dr Watson said.
Cressida Toorenburg was lucky enough to catch the light show in East Devonport, Tasmania after clouds parted overhead.
"We sat for half an hour in the hope that the clouds would move away and then wow," she said.
"There was Lady Aurora! It was breathtaking — you could see her with the naked eye, but much bigger and brighter through the screen on my phone."
Ms Toorenburg said she has lived in the area for seven years and never seen an aurora as dazzling.
"The colours were so beautiful and vibrant," she said.
Separately, a meteor lit up Sydney skies about 6pm on Sunday.
Australian National University astrophysicist Brad Tucker said Sunday's especially visible auroras were caused by a strong solar storm.
"The bigger the storm that leaves the Sun, the more likely the aurora is to be on Earth and the stronger the aurora is," he said.
He said aurora fans should get outside just after sunset Monday night for another chance to catch some colour.
An updated geomagnetic warning published by the Australian Space Weather Forecasting Centre (ASWFC) says increased activity is expected to continue until June 3.
Monday's forecast carries a G-scale rating of 4 out of 5, which indicates a higher chance of a light show.
The ASWFC, which is part of the Bureau of Meteorology, sends out geomagnetic storm alerts via email.
If you sign up to the ASWFC alerts via this online portal, you'll get an email when there's an alert.
Here are some more stunning photos taken of the aurora overnight.
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