Severe solar storm may make southern lights visible across parts of Australia

The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) has issued an alert for 20 January saying a severe geomagnetic storm in progress could make the aurora australis visible during night-time hours in Australia, potentially as far north as parts of Victoria and New South Wales. Australian astrophysicist Sara Webb said a large flare of energy and material was ejected from the sun on 18 January and “was starting to hit the Earth late last night.” Hannah Schunker of the University of Newcastle said New Zealand and Tasmania have the best chance of seeing the display, and that viewers in Australia who go out after dark to a clear southern horizon with little artificial light might get lucky; she added auroras typically last from 20 minutes to an hour.

Shawn Dahl of NOAA told the Guardian the storm’s intensity has not been seen in more than two decades, and the US Geological Survey warned it may interfere with satellite operations, GPS communications and other infrastructure. Agencies are monitoring the event: the National Emergency Management Agency is tracking the storm, Nema said no significant impacts are expected for Aotearoa New Zealand, and Transpower said it has been closely monitoring conditions and that “mitigation actions are not needed,” noting a contingency plan to switch out circuits if required and that consumer electricity supply would not be affected.

Key Topics

Science, Aurora Australis, Solar Storm, Nema, Noaa, Transpower