An alert has been issued for aurora australis in Tasmania and coastal Victoria

A spectacular natural phenomenon is set to captivate a select group of Australians - but only if they are lucky.

The aurora australis captured by Grahame Kelaher in Western Australia for the Bureau of Meteorology's 2022 weather calendar.

Parts of southern Australia may be in store for a spectacular light show on Thursday night.

The Bureau of Meteorology’s space weather services team has issued an alert for an aurora, which may be visible from Tasmania and Victoria’s coastline.

The rare phenomenon features a spectacular shimmering display of lights dancing across the night sky.

The bureau says it may be seen during night time if the observing conditions are good at high latitudes.

The natural light display in the sky is caused by particles from the sun, millions of kilometres away, interacting with the Earth’s magnetic field.

The auroras in the southern hemisphere are known as aurora australis, or southern lights, while near the north pole they are called aurora borealis, or northern lights.

AURORA ALERT ✨ The Bureau's Space Weather Services team has issued an Aurora Alert — an Aurora may be visible from Tasmania and the coastline of Victoria tonight (4 Nov).

You can sign up for our aurora alerts by going to https://t.co/od1TI9Hgtn

📷 Ryan Shanz - Tasmania pic.twitter.com/fCELhUgINH

— Bureau of Meteorology, Australia (@BOM_au) November 4, 2021

An image of the aurora australis in the Bureau of Meteorology's 2022 weather calendar.

Originally published as An alert has been issued for aurora australis in Tasmania and coastal Victoria