Both the Aurora Australis and Aurora Borealis have captivated people’s minds for millions of years, from the Northern American belief that the lights were the souls of their ancestors to the Indigenous Australians associating them with
What is an aurora?
The Aurora Australis (or Southern Lights) happens when the sun releases massive bursts of solar wind and magnetic fields into space. The winds carry particles that interact with Earth’s magnetic field, producing visible energy that displays itself as an ‘aurora’.
The Earth’s magnetic field is closest to the surface at the North and South poles. This means that the best aurora-hunting spots are typically up in the far north of Lapland, Finland or down in Tasmania and Antarctica. On rare occasions — like last night — you can witness the lights from the south coast of mainland Australia and southern New Zealand.
Why did it happen?
The Aurora Australis is measured on a scale from 0kp to 9kp and will rarely be seen as far north as Perth. As a matter of fact, to see the lights in the city, the scale needs to hit an 8kp or higher, as the phenomenon dims the further you get from the source. Last night, that’s exactly what happened. Lucky photographers were able to get a glimpse of the tail end of the lights just above the horizon, and the Perh Observatory was even able to get images atop the Lowell Telescope Dome.
The Observatory explained, “We are currently experiencing more auroras due to the sun moving into the solar maximum phase of its 11-year cycle, which is predicted to be in 2024-25, causing the increased activity.”
“A magnetic filament connected to sunspot AR3229 erupted on the 24th of February, producing a chain reaction of events… This one caused auroras for over 16 hours in the northern and southern skies.”
Anyone who was lucky enough to see this medium-intensity solar flare will have plenty to brag about. While the lights were hard to see with the naked eye, the images captured by photographers and the Observatory were mind-blowing.
If the Auroras interest you, Perth Observatory highly recommends checking out the Aurora Australis Western Australia Facebook group to keep updated on when you might next get to see the lights.
Stay on top of what’s happening in Perth with So Perth
Lead image: @vlwphotography
