Strong geomagnetic storm conditions are expected to continue on Thursday, before declining over Friday.<\/p>\n
Matt Woods, from the Perth Observatory, said a storm of that magnitude meant there was a “good chance” that bright auroras could be visible across large parts of southern Australia once the skies darkened.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This could potentially reach as far north as Sydney and Perth, according to BOM<\/a>.<\/p>\n Many captured the aurora over Tasmania in November 2025, despite expectations the event would be weak. (Supplied: Luke Rasmussen\/Bruny Island Aurora Photography)<\/p>\n The prospect has excited aurora chasers, with several photographers in WA having already “taken the day off” to catch a glimpse of the colourful spectacle, according to Mr Woods.<\/p>\n “If they’re heading down, you know it should be a good display,” he said.<\/p>\n Unfortunately, the specific timing and strength of any aurora displays will not become clear until a few hours out from the event, according to Mr Woods.<\/p>\n There are still several factors that could subdue any aurora display, but Mr Woods was hopeful.<\/p>\n “What we’re waiting to see is if the solar storm has a southward orientation,” he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n “That \u2026 allows the particles from the Sun to interrupt the atmosphere and create stronger and more visible auroras.”<\/p>\n Bec Smith’s photo of the aurora australis over Sandford, Tasmania between 3am and 4am on June 3, 2025. (Supplied: Unique Tasmania\/Bec Smith via Weather Obsessed<\/a>)<\/p>\n Updates on the aurora viewing potential can be found on the BOM’s space weather site<\/a> and several aurora Facebook pages.<\/p>\n How can you see an aurora?<\/p>\n To view the auroras, you ideally need a dark night with little cloud cover and an unobstructed view to our south.<\/p>\n Aurora spotting in Australia<\/a><\/p>\n How can you spot an aurora?<\/p>\n The colours and movement, particularly pinks and reds, can be visible to the naked eye. The further south you are, the more colour you get.<\/p>\n However, the full scope of colour, including the iconic greens, is best captured on camera with a long exposure of about 10 to 15 seconds, according to Mr Woods.<\/p>\n Typical aurora events last from 15 to 30 minutes, though some can be much shorter or last for several hours, with some displays lasting for just a few minutes before disappearing and reappearing.\u00a0<\/p>\n What is an aurora?<\/p>\n Auroras are triggered by the remnants of a sudden sun explosion, known as a coronal mass ejection (CME).<\/p>\n During these events, particles, energy and material are blasted into the solar system, causing geomagnetic storms that can disrupt Earth’s magnetic field.<\/p>\n Three CMEs observed over recent days are considered to be en route to Earth, according to BOM.<\/p>\n On November 11, the Sun unleashed a major solar flare, the most intense since October 2024. (Supplied: NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center)<\/p>\n The shimmering curtains of green, red and pink you are seeing are the atoms and molecules in the atmosphere interacting with particles blasted out from the Sun.<\/p>\n Mr Woods, from the Perth Observatory, described it as the same process as a neon sign.<\/p>\n “The radiation from the Sun is coming into our atmosphere and interacting and exciting the oxygen and nitrogen molecules in our atmosphere,” he said.<\/p>\n “That’s causing them to glow.<\/p>\n “So the reds and greens are oxygen and the blues and pinks and purples are nitrogen in our atmosphere glowing.” Luke Rasmussen has won awards for his aurora photography, including this shot titled Down the Middle. (Supplied: Luke Rasmussen\/Bruny Island Aurora Photography)<\/p>\n Technology disruptions<\/p>\n Geomagnetic storms, while pretty, can can cause massive outages to technology such as radio blackouts, power outages and issues for satellites.\u00a0<\/p>\n This is why they come as a warning.<\/p>\n In February 2022, about 40 just-launched Starlink satellites fell victim to a powerful solar storm<\/a> and were knocked back into the atmosphere, where they burned up.<\/p>\n BOM space weather forecaster Tom Grace said the role of the space forecasting centre was to warn of these events.<\/p>\n “The interesting thing about space weather is with enough \u2026 forewarning you can \u2026 avoid impacts because they’re all based around technological systems,” Dr Grace said.<\/p>\n “Satellite operators can turn satellites off or put them in safe mode, or the energy grid can be prepared to deal with surges in certain power lines.”<\/p>\n A two-year aurora boom<\/p>\n For the past two years, we have been in the midst of an explosion of aurora activity.<\/p>\n Not only have aurora events been more frequent, they have been visible from places much further north than normal.<\/p>\n Luke Rasmussen says the past two years have been “amazing” for capturing auroras. (Supplied: Luke Rasmussen)<\/p>\n This is because we have been in a period known as “solar maximum” \u2014 the period of the Sun’s 11-year cycle when solar activity is highest and sunspots are most abundant.<\/p>\n Generally, the more sunspot activity there is, the higher the chance of an aurora occurring.<\/p>\n This has certainly been the case of the past two years in Australia, according to Bruny Island astro photographer Luke Rasmussen, who specialises in aurora photography<\/a>.<\/p>\n “The peak of this cycle has exceeded expectations. So we’ve been in a very lucky period,” he said.<\/p>\n “Almost every week or so there’s something going on, and every few weeks there’s something bigger, and every four months we’ve had some amazing displays.”<\/p>\n The light shows have also been seen well outside of the southernmost regions, where they are usually limited to.<\/p>\n During some of the big displays of the past few years, auroras have been seen as far north as Geraldton in Western Australia and Tamworth in New South Wales.<\/p>\n The most notable event was in May 2024, when a G5 storm hit Earth. It was the biggest geomagnetic storm we had seen in 20 years, NASA says<\/a>.<\/p>\n Aurora boom will not last forever<\/p>\n Solar maximum was officially reached in October 2024, according to NASA.<\/p>\n Dr Grace said while it had been “quieter” until recently, we were still in a period of high activity \u2014 for now.<\/p>\n “I would say we’re still in a maximum period. We could see another peak in this cycle, or we might not. But we’re definitely still in a period of high activity,” he said.<\/p>\n This will not last forever, though. In fact, he said it was likely we were nearing the end of the crescendo.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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