Rare aurora australis dazzles Down Under with encore a chance
A powerful solar storm delivered Australians a rare treat as the Southern Lights put on a dazzling display visible as far north as Queensland, while those who missed out could get a second chance
READING LEVEL: GREEN
While most of us were sleeping, some lucky Australians were treated to a rare and dazzling light show on Wednesday night, as a powerful solar storm* hit Earth.
Astronomer Dr Laura Driessen from the University of Sydney Institute for Astronomy said the event was caused by a geomagnetic* storm, which happens when high-energy particles from the sun collide with Earth’s magnetic field.
The result was a stunning aurora australis* display, also known as the Southern Lights.
“In this case, an active sunspot called AR4274 emitted quite a few coronal mass ejections*, or bursts of plasma*, in our direction over the last couple of days,” Dr Driessen said.
Plasma from two of these flares arrived at around 1pm AEDT on November 12.
While G4-level geomagnetic storms occur roughly 100 times every 11-year solar cycle, it was rare for Australians to see the auroras triggered by them.
MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE
Geomagnetic storms generally pose no danger to people, but Dr Driessen said that the storms of this size and strength sometimes disrupted satellites and radio communications, and in extreme cases, have even caused blackouts.
The current storms were forecast to be so strong that both American and Australian weather bureaus* issued “severe” warnings ahead of their arrival.
Last night’s event in Australia has added to the array of mesmerising* images of these latest auroras taken around the world.
While on Wednesday Dr Driessen had her fingers crossed that night-owls in Perth or Sydney might be lucky enough to see the display, the ABC reported on Thursday that the strength of the storm even made it visible as far north as Queensland.
Auroras are notoriously hard to predict, but Swinburne University’s Dr Rebecca Allen suggested stargazers could improve their chances by heading somewhere dark with a clear view of the southern horizon, such as the beach or the top of a hill, just after sunset, for the best chance of spotting the lights.
If skies stay clear, Thursday night could bring another rare chance for Australians to see the southern lights dancing overhead. BOM said there was a very high chance an aurora would be visible for an encore* performance tonight.
POLL
GLOSSARY
solar storm: a sudden explosion of particles, energy, magnetic fields and material blasted into the solar system by the sun
astronomer: scientist who studies the stars, planets, and other natural objects in space
geomagnetic: relating to Earth’s magnetic field
aurora australis: these are auroras that occur in the Southern Hemisphere; in the Northern Hemisphere they’re known as aurora borealis
coronal mass ejections: physical ejection of material from the sun’s corona, which is the outermost layer of the sun’s atmosphere
plasma: super-hot ionised (electrically charged) gas
bureaus: organisations or government departments that collect and distribute information
mesmerising: captivating, fascinating, spellbinding
encore: an extra or repeated performance
EXTRA READING
Aurora australis puts on a stunning southern show
Australia’s most incredible weather photos
QUICK QUIZ
What is another name for aurora australis?
What causes these events?
Which sunspot emitted bursts of plasma in this case?
How frequently do G4-level geomagnetic storms occur?
What improves your chances of catching the light show?
LISTEN TO THIS STORY
CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Be inspired
Create an artwork inspired by aurora australis. Use information from the story to give you ideas.
Time: allow at least 30 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Visual Arts
2. Extension
What do you think causes geomagnetic storms? Brainstorm some ideas. Then use your research skills to check them. Use all the information to create an infographic that will help younger kids understand how and why geomagnetic storms are formed.
Time: allow at least 40 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Science
VCOP ACTIVITY
Read with Kung Fu punctuation
Pair up with the article between you and stand up to make it easy to demonstrate your Kung Fu punctuation.
Practise reading one sentence at a time. Now read it again, while acting out the punctuation as you read.
Read and act three sentences before swapping with your partner.
Take two turns each.
Now ask your partner to read a sentence out loud while you try and act out the punctuation. Can you keep up? Swap over?
Try acting out two sentences – are you laughing yet?