Just a few months ago, Australians turned their heads to the sky for what is usually a rare experience, but this lucky country will get another chance to witness it tonight.
A video from the International Space Station released Thursday (July 4) shows green aurora lights 250 miles above Earth.
Experts are closely monitoring the increased activity on the sun, with the possibility of seeing the aurora borealis on Tuesday night.
The aurora borealis, also known as the southern lights, can usually be seen from the island of Tasmania.
However, May saw the largest geomagnetic storm in nearly 20 years, giving stargazers in Victoria, South Australia and around the world a clear view of the rare event.
Pink, purple and green hues lit up the sky, delighting ordinary Australians and keen stargazers alike.
Another geomagnetic storm is now expected to hit us, and it is expected to be stronger on Tuesday evening.
People watch the Northern Lights at Port Phillip Bay in Melbourne in May. Photo: PAUL CROCK/AFP
Miriam Bradbury, a meteorologist at the Met Office, confirmed that there is a chance of seeing this colourful spectacle, but not as much as it was last May.
People in southern Victoria and Tasmania will have the best chance of seeing the Northern Lights.
“At this stage, the south-west and central coastal areas of Victoria look the most promising,” she said.
The Gippsland coast could also be a good opportunity, although conditions are expected to be a little cloudy.
“That’s likely to happen in Tasmania – we’ll see partly cloudy conditions across the state, which doesn’t mean you won’t see any aurora, but you may struggle with those cloudy conditions,” Ms Bradbury said.
“I think the really deciding factor is how much cloud cover remains. Unfortunately, we’ve had cloudy conditions all week.”
Large parts of New South Wales are likely to miss out on the weather phenomenon as well as Western Australia.
This atmospheric phenomenon is caused by coronal mass ejections – clouds of charged particles and magnetic fields that can interact with Earth’s magnetic field and atmosphere, resulting in the colorful aurora.
Solar flares and coronal mass ejections have been observed close to Earth, said Brett Carter, associate professor in the School of Science at RMIT.
“There are at least two coronal mass ejections approaching Earth, and they are expected to merge into a single disturbance expected to arrive Tuesday morning onwards,” he added.
“The geomagnetic storm caused by these explosions is expected to be the largest on the evening of Tuesday 30 July, giving Australians in southern parts of Victoria and Western Australia the chance to see some aurora borealis – if conditions are right.”
The phenomenon also lit up the skies over South Australia in May. Photo: Linda N. Irwin-Oake.
Ms. Bradbury said the space weather team indicated the storm would be a Category 2 or 3, which is moderate to strong.
It is not clear exactly when the solar storm will reach Australia, and the likelihood of auroras appearing is “highly uncertain”, according to Professor Carter.
“The most important issue in predicting the impact of such events on the Earth is that we do not know the magnetic field inside the eruption. Disturbances in the magnetic field to the south have much greater effects than those to the north,” said Professor Carter.
“Currently, we have no reliable way to predict the magnetic field inside solar flares.”
Professor Carter said more research was needed, as well as more data and better models to predict the space environment.
“There is no way to know for sure how this space weather phenomenon will develop. All we have to do is watch the incoming data and see if the conditions are right for viewing the aurora,” he said.
“To see if it’s worth packing up your camera gear and heading out into a clear, dark sky, keep an eye on incoming space weather data and monitor your social media feeds. People are very quick to share stunning aurora photos online.”
Dark skies are the best chance to see the aurora borealis.
