Australian stargazers enjoyed a brilliant show Sunday night, with auroras illuminating the dark winter sky with pink and green hues.<\/p>\n
In areas as far north as Tamworth in New South Wales, clear skies aligned with a geomagnetic storm to show off a vibrant aurora australis that was visible to the naked eye.<\/p>\n
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Ben Lomond in Tasmania enjoyed perfect conditions for admiring the aurora. \u00a0 (Supplied: Nathan Waterhouse)<\/p>\n
Astronomer Fred Watson said it was “quite unusual to see the aurora this far north”, and that a particularly strong solar storm was behind its visibility.<\/p>\n
Auroras are caused by geomagnetic storms, which in turn, are triggered by ejections of material from the Sun into space.<\/p>\n
In a geomagnetic storm, atoms of oxygen and nitrogen in the atmosphere emit the bright, colourful lights that create auroras.<\/p>\n
“The more active the energy is, the closer to the equator it can be seen,” Dr Watson said.<\/p>\n
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A flash of radiant colours was visible over the water in Merimbula.\u00a0 (Supplied: Peter Buggy)<\/p>\n
Cressida Toorenburg was lucky enough to catch the light show in East Devonport, Tasmania after clouds parted overhead.<\/p>\n
“We sat for half an hour in the hope that the clouds would move away and then wow,” she said.<\/p>\n
“There was Lady Aurora! It was breathtaking \u2014 you could see her with the naked eye, but much bigger and brighter through the screen on my phone.”<\/p>\n
Ms Toorenburg said she has lived in the area for seven years and never seen an aurora as dazzling.<\/p>\n
“The colours were so beautiful and vibrant,” she said.<\/p>\n
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Strokes of a fluorescent yellow were visible in some areas.\u00a0 (Supplied: Cam Blake<\/a>)<\/p>\n Separately, a meteor lit up Sydney skies about 6pm on Sunday.<\/a><\/p>\n Australian National University astrophysicist Brad Tucker said Sunday’s especially visible auroras were caused by a strong solar storm.<\/p>\n “The bigger the storm that leaves the Sun, the more likely the aurora is to be on Earth and the stronger the aurora is,” he said.<\/p>\n He said aurora fans should get outside just after sunset Monday night for another chance to catch some colour.<\/p>\n Astronomer David Finlay enjoyed the show over the water at Gerroa.\u00a0 (Supplied: David Finlay)<\/p>\n An updated geomagnetic warning<\/a> published by the Australian Space Weather Forecasting Centre (ASWFC) says increased activity is expected to continue until June 3.<\/p>\n Monday’s forecast carries a G-scale rating of 4 out of 5, which indicates a higher chance of a light show.<\/p>\n The ASWFC, which is part of the Bureau of Meteorology, sends out geomagnetic storm alerts via email.<\/p>\n If you sign up to the <\/strong>ASWFC alerts <\/strong>via this online portal<\/a>, you’ll get an email when there’s an alert.<\/p>\n The aurora managed to peek through some clouds in Port Macquarie.\u00a0 (Supplied: Rita Paciullo)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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