{"id":548218,"date":"2026-03-18T11:21:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-18T11:21:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/548218\/"},"modified":"2026-03-18T11:21:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T11:21:08","slug":"how-you-can-see-the-next-aurora-australis-in-australia-this-march","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/548218\/","title":{"rendered":"How you can see the next Aurora Australis in Australia this March"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>If you\u2019ve ever dreamed of seeing an Aurora Australis, this could be your moment. Space weather forecasts are predicting a geomagnetic storm on Thursday, 19\u202fMarch 2026, and for some lucky southern states, that means a light show worth pausing your evening plans for.<\/p>\n<p>And while visibility of these events can sometimes be restricted to the southern parts of Australia, according to NOAA, this storm is rated &#8216;G2&#8217;\u2014 which could make the aurora visible much further north than usual. Here&#8217;s what you need to know to get a glimpse.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Where can you see the Aurora Australis?<\/p>\n<p>You don\u2019t have to travel to Antarctica to see this\u00a0 \u2014 the aurora australis is predicted to be visible from parts of Tasmania, Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia, and parts of southern NSW.<\/p>\n<p>As a general rule, the more horizon you can see, the better your chances of catching the full display, so head away from the city and opt for spaces with dark skies and a clear southern horizon for the best vantage points.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>What time to look at the sky<\/p>\n<p>The coronal mass ejection (CME) \u2014 i.e., the geomagnetic storm triggered by the Sun\u2019s solar flare \u2014 is expected to reach Earth around 8\u202fpm AEDT, and the best viewing window is roughly 65\u201370 minutes after sunset. Depending on where you are, these are the best viewing times.<\/p>\n<p>Tasmania<\/p>\n<p>Sunset: 7:50\u202fpm AEDT<br \/>\nBest viewing: 9:00\u201311:00\u202fpm AEDT<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.russh.com\/tasmania-holiday-destinations\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Tasmania is your prime aurora zone<\/a>, with clear southern skies offering the best chance to see the lights in full colour.<\/p>\n<p>Victoria<\/p>\n<p>Sunset (Melbourne region): 7:50\u202fpm AEDT<br \/>\nBest viewing: ~9:00\u201311:00\u202fpm AEDT<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.russh.com\/weekend-trips-from-melbourne\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Head to regional Victoria<\/a> or coastal spots for minimal light pollution. The aurora may appear as a subtle green glow at first, brightening if the storm peaks.<\/p>\n<p>South Australia<\/p>\n<p>Sunset (Adelaide region): 7:40\u202fpm ACST<br \/>\nBest viewing: 8:45\u201310:30\u202fpm ACST<\/p>\n<p>Southern South Australia, away from city lights, may catch a glimpse of dancing streaks along the horizon.<\/p>\n<p>Western Australia<\/p>\n<p>Sunset (Perth region): 6:55\u202fpm AWST<br \/>\nBest viewing: 8:30 &#8211; 9:30pm AWST<\/p>\n<p>Southern WA offers opportunities for late-night viewing if skies are clear. Look toward the southern horizon.<\/p>\n<p>New South Wales<\/p>\n<p>Sunset (Sydney region): 7:15\u202fpm AEDT<br \/>\nBest viewing: 8:30\u201310:30\u202fpm AEDT<\/p>\n<p>Aurora sightings are less common here, but during a moderate G2 storm, a faint glow might be visible to the south if conditions are perfect.<\/p>\n<p>New Zealand<\/p>\n<p>Sunset (Wellington region): 7:50\u202fpm NZDT<br \/>\nBest viewing: 8:30\u201310:30\u202fpm NZDT<\/p>\n<p>New Zealand\u2019s South Island is famous for aurora sightings thanks to clear skies and minimal light pollution.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Tips for seeing (and capturing) the Aurora<\/p>\n<p>Seeing the lights is one thing, capturing them is another. Here are some tips to photograph the moment:<\/p>\n<p>Keep it dark, and opt for areas without streetlights. Beaches, hills, and country roads are ideal.<br \/>\nGive your eyes 15\u201320 minutes in the dark to see faint colours.<br \/>\nLook south. The aurora typically arcs from the southern horizon upward.<br \/>\nA tripod, long exposure (10\u201330 seconds), and high ISO will help you capture the glow. Modern smartphones with night mode can do a surprisingly good job.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>      Stay inspired, follow us.<\/p>\n<p>        <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/russhmagazine\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><\/a><br \/>\n        <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@russhmagazine\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"russh_svg lazy\" width=\"28\" src=\"\/wp-content\/themes\/russh\/img\/tiktok.svg?123\" alt=\"TikTok icon\"\/><\/a><br \/>\n        <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/RusshMagazine\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><\/a><br \/>\n        <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pinterest.com.au\/russhaustralia\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><\/a><br \/>\n        <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/Russhmag\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><\/a><br \/>\n        <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/russh_magazine\" rel=\"nofollow\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"russh_svg lazy\" width=\"28\" src=\"\/wp-content\/themes\/russh\/img\/x.svg?123\" alt=\"X icon\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Feature image by <a class=\"name-bimlc4 truncate-Pc_c1s resetAnchor-rkYpCn nameLight-wQd_Au\" href=\"https:\/\/unsplash.com\/@freedomstudios\" data-discover=\"true\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Graham Holtshausen <\/a>via Unsplash.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t<script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><script async src=\"\/\/www.tiktok.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"If you\u2019ve ever dreamed of seeing an Aurora Australis, this could be your moment. Space weather forecasts are&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":548219,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[64,63,75,128],"class_list":["post-548218","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-environment","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/548218","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=548218"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/548218\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/548219"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=548218"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=548218"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=548218"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}