‘Off the charts’: Tasmanians treated cops rare light show

Early risers woke to a rare, and beautiful lightshow this morning as the Southern Lights made an elusive Australian appearance.

Southern Tasmanian locals have flooded social media today with what has been described as the best Aurora Australis (aka Southern Lights) display “ever”.

Experts say you’ll be able to see the lights from Tasmania and coastal parts of Victoria tonight, but it looks to be weaker.

Tassie is no stranger to the light event though they are usually faint and hard to spot without the aid of a long exposure photograph.

But this morning around 5.15am the display put on a show, with colourful beams reportedly visible to the naked eye.

Toby Schrapel photographed the aurora australis in Judbury, Huon Valley, Tasmania. Picture: Toby Schrapel

Toby Schrapel, a freelance photographer from The Huon Valley, 40 minutes south of Hobart, described the moment he and his son saw the rare event.

“We could see full colour to the naked eye – not quite like what the camera sees, but it was the most colour (I’ve) ever seen,” he said.

He had been camping with his son in the valley when it happened, and they were both blown away by the southern lights.

The southern lights could be seen with the naked eye and some even snapped the event on their phones. Picture: Dale Bluett/ Facebook

“Harlan then told me ‘This is so special to see the magic sky colours with you daddy’ – So I’m never forgetting this one,” he said.

“May have started another aurora chaser.”

A Tasmanian Facebook group dedicated to snapping and forecasting the event when it comes around was bombarded today by incredible pictures and accounts.

Picture: Toby Schrapel

“It was amazing to see beams and movement last night visible to the naked eye,” one aurora chaser wrote.

“Absolutely insane show tonight,” another wrote.

Auroras, also known as the Northern and Southern Lights, occur when energetic charged particles travelling along the Earth’s magnetic field lines collide with gases in the upper atmosphere, emitting light.

Astonishingly, there are some reports of the lights even being visible in Victoria and New South Wales.

Some amazing photos being posted to various Aurora groups on Facebook. Visible in NSW, images taken from #Kiama and #Dubbo at 5am. Severe G4 KP8 Geomagnetic Storm event.
#aurora#southernlights#AuroraAustralis#spaceweather#kp8#geomagneticpic.twitter.com/fwaHjwzC8P

— scanSydney (@scanSydney) April 23, 2023

#AuroraAustralis on #Gunditjmara country western Victoria, Australia at 5am this morning pic.twitter.com/8vzn3cX5vI

— Greg Wadley (@GregWadley) April 23, 2023

A Hobart City Council webcam on top of kunanyi/ Mount Wellington was able to pick up the lights.

Aurora Borealis is the term used to describe the phenomenon in the northern hemisphere, while Aurora Australis is used in the south.

These lights are most visible in Australia and New Zealand’s southern areas during this time of year, although they can occur at any time.

Picture: Toby Schrapel

Aurora Australis visible in Tasmania. Picture: Jules Witek

According to the Australian Space Weather Forecasting Centre, auroras are most likely to appear in March and September due to the Earth’s orientation relative to the sun and the likelihood of solar storms.

The atmosphere’s composition determines the shades of an aurora, with more oxygen-producing greens and yellows and more nitrogen resulting in dark red or blue.

Bureau of Meteorology says another aurora is likely for Australia’s far south early Tuesday morning.