Incredible Southern Lights display dazzles the night sky in Australia
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Incredible photos capture a rare display of the southern lights as the reason the aurora australis was seen so far north is revealed
- The aurora australis was seen in NSW
- He was seen in Dubbo, the central west
In a rare event, the aurora australis, also known as the southern lights, was visible as far north as west-central New South Wales.
Residents in parts of New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia could see a pink glow in the sky on Monday night thanks to particularly strong geomagnetic activity.
While “severe” geomagnetic storms can occasionally make aurora visible in southern NSW, colorful skies are a very rare sight in the center of the state.
Spectacular photos shared online show that a dark pink light was visible as far north as Dubbo, 400km northwest of Sydney.
While the bright lights of Sydney would have made the aurora hard to see, residents a bit south of the coast were treated to visions of bright purple and pink.
The aurora australis was visible in parts of central NSW on Monday night (aurora in Dubbo pictured)
A dark purple hue was visible from the outskirts of Canberra (above) and residents called the sight “stunning”.
A time lapse of the night sky over Gerroa, 135 km south of Sydney, captured by local daniel munro It shows a bright light accompanied by the colors in the sky.
A ‘stunning’ dark purple hue was visible on the outskirts of Canberra.
On the west coast, the aurora was seen as high as Lancelin, 125 km north of Perth.
Sightings were also reported in the central west NSW towns of Orange and Forbes, Clayton Bay in southern SA and Dunsborough on the southwest WA coast.
The aurora remained active throughout Monday night, peaking just after midnight.
The strength of the aurora was likely affected by a solar flare on February 24.
The Perth Observatory explained: ‘A magnetic filament connected to sunspot AR3229 erupted on February 24, setting off a chain reaction of events.
“The eruption triggered a medium-intensity, long-duration solar flare, which passed us in 10 minutes. But it is what came after that brought the dawn. A coronal mass ejection partially directed at Earth.
CMEs are explosions of charged plasma from the outer layers of the sun. They travel much slower than flares, take a few days to reach us, and can cause beautiful auroras.
“This caused auroras for more than 16 hours in the northern and southern skies.”
The aurora could not be seen in Sydney due to light pollution, but could be seen further down the coast at Gerroa (above)
The Perth Observatory said the aurora was visible this far north due to a solar flare on February 24 (aurora is pictured at the Perth observatory on Monday)
It is unlikely that the aurora will be visible again on Tuesday night (in the photo, the aurora in Dubbo on Monday)
Unfortunately, the intense aurora is unlikely to reappear this far north on Tuesday night and the Met Office forecasts that the line of visibility will drop below Tasmania.
However, the aurora is expected to be slightly stronger on Thursday and Friday.
Tourism Australia recommends visiting Bruny Island, Satellite Island, Cradle Mountain or the Central Highlands in Tasmania for the best view of the aurora.
It is usually most visible in winter, specifically from late May through August, and during the vernal equinox.