Stargazers were treated to a stunning light show that lit up the skies in South Australia thanks to a massive geomagnetic storm, and more are in store tonight.
Aurora Australis put on one of the best shows of the past decade on Friday night due to some massive solar rates and ‘coronial mass ejections’ emitted from the Sun earlier this week.
The impressive Southern Lights, normally only seen in Tasmania, were visible in Victoria, South Africa and Washington. The Bureau of Meteorology’s Australian Space Weather Forecasting Center warned of G5 (extreme) geomagnetic storm conditions on Saturday.
The phenomenon, caused by the solar wind disrupting Earth’s ionosphere and moving gas particles and producing light, is the counterpart to the Southern Hemisphere’s Northern Lights, or Aurora Borealis.
Red light is generally seen at higher altitudes, then green light and blue at lower levels.
The solar wind can also affect electrical and communications infrastructure, such as power grids, satellite signals, GPS services and TV or radio broadcasts.
Aurora Australis was seen as far north as South Africa (pictured), Victoria and northern WA on Friday
The phenomenon is caused by solar wind moving gas particles in the ionosphere, creating light
The lights of Coodlie Park Eco Retreat on the Eyre Peninsula (photo: Krystina Rose)
The agency issued an updated alert on Saturday.
‘A major geomagnetic storm is underway. Aurora can be observed at night under good observation conditions up to mid-latitudes,” the agency said.
A press release states that there is no danger to humans.
“The alert for this event informs government and critical infrastructure operators so they can take action to limit the potential impact on infrastructure assets and essential services,” the press release said.
“The Bureau continues to monitor the situation and will provide updates on any significant changes.”
Although a solar storm has the potential to cause damage to our electricity and radio networks, it poses no danger to humans.
The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has issued a global G4 Geometric Storm Watch through its Space Weather Prediction Center for the first time since 2005.
“This is an unusual and potentially historic event,” said Clinton Wallace, director of NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center.
There is the potential to see the Aurora Australis as far north as Sydney and Perth, usually in dark sky environments away from cities.
Incredibly, a photographer posted a photo of the phenomenon, taken in Karratha in Washington’s Pilbara region, which is further north than Mackay in Queensland.
Massive solar flares earlier this week caused the geomagnetic storm
The lights could be seen from across southern Australia (photo: Linda N Irwin-Oak)
The Bureau of Meteorology said electrical and communications infrastructure could be affected
The sun is constantly erupting and throwing particles into space, but since it is 93 million miles from Earth, it rarely reaches us, and when it does, it produces only a small G1 or G2 storm.
If a geomagnetic storm reaches a level five, satellites can collide with other objects in space or the atmosphere and suffer physical damage from supercharged ‘killer electrons’ hitting key parts of the hardware, rendering it unusable.
The last major geomagnetic storm occurred in 2022, destroying up to forty Starlink satellites worth more than 50 million dollars, sending them back to Earth, but luckily they burned up in the atmosphere.
People reported Friday that their Starlink internet went down after the first explosion from space that hit Earth around 1:45 PM ET.
It remains unlikely that wireless connectivity will be directly affected by the storm, as these networks rely on radio frequencies other than GPS systems.
Even if GPS functions are affected, people will likely still be able to maintain a map showing their rough location.
The power grid is better prepared than for similar geomagnetic storms of the past because they now have backup power generators and cell towers that can be activated if the cell towers lose power.
Flight patterns can also be affected during these storms, as commercial airlines are warned to stay away from the Earth’s poles as they risk losing communications and navigation systems.