Residents of southeastern Australia experienced a spectacular display of the aurora australis last night, with many witnesses reporting vivid colors and mesmerizing movements across the night sky. Joe Cali observed the aurora’s peak brightness at approximately 8:30 PM from a property outside Young, New South Wales. He recalled the scene as a “surreal” sight, highlighting a bright pink glow filled with vertical columns of light.
But the aurora’s entrancing reds, blues, and greens weren’t limited to Young.Tom McCallister experienced the light show firsthand as he was waiting at traffic lights on his morning commute around 6 PM.He described it as flashing green before breaking into smaller pieces, a sentiment echoed by Karisha Davies, who captured a video of the aurora from Mount Riverview.
A Celestial Event Fueled by Solar Activity
The remarkable visibility of the auroras is attributed to a strong solar storm that recently ejected from the sun, impacting Earth and triggering the colorful phenomena. Dr. Tucker, an expert in solar activity, noted that the sun is currently at the extremely active peak of its 11-year solar cycle. This exaggerates the auroral displays we’re eventually able to observe.
“The bigger the storm that leaves the Sun, the more likely the aurora is to be on Earth and the stronger the aurora is,” – Dr. Tucker
Dr. Tucker emphasized that both this year and last year have been unusually active periods for solar activity, making the recent auroras a rare sight.He calculated the meteor that caused the bolide must have been between the size of a tennis ball to that of a basketball.
“It would have been a good-sized meteor, maybe anywhere between a tennis and basketball sized,” – Dr. Tucker
Witness Accounts Capture the Magic
Witnesses were dazzled by the magnificent spectacle on the river. As Joe Cali pointed out , it provided a pretty terrific spectacle, about six hours long from dusk to midnight.He described how the aurora glowed a bright green before fading away, while also observing its initial vibrant pink hues.
“At its brightest a pink glow with some vertical pillars of light were visible to the naked eye,” – Joe Cali
Tom McCallister reflected on his experience, sharing how the spectacle traveled right across in front of him. He noted the transition from a bright green glow to smaller fragments.
“It travelled right across in front of us and glowed a bright green before it broke up and faded,” – Tom McCallister
Photographer and filmmaker Karisha Davies said she was glad to have documented the whole event, referring to it as an experience she will never forget.
“It was very surreal, I feel lucky to have experienced such a sight and happy I managed to capture the tail end of it on video,” – Ms. Davies
