Aurora Australis Southern Lights
Experience Tasmania's sky in technicolour
WHAT SPARKS YOUR INTEREST?
The Aurora Australis, or Southern Lights, is often confused with the Northern Lights, leading people to mistakenly search for "Aurora Borealis Australia." Every year people flock to Iceland and Norway to view the spectacle in the Arctic Circle. Its lesser known southern equal can be a surprising delight and worth the trip to Tasmania, where it can be best viewed. This natural phenomena is often described as a dance of lights across the sky and is a memory that will last a lifetime.
This unearthly show presents itself when the sun releases a massive burst of plasma and magnetic fields into space, technically known as a coronal mass ejection. Auroras are produced when particles of this plasma and the earth’s magnetic field collide. Given that the earth’s magnetic field is closest to its surface at the North and South Poles, Antarctica and Tasmania are ideal places to view this natural wonder. The atoms bring various colours forth, green and red representing oxygen, and nitrogen reflected in green and blue.
Although images online will present an array of dazzling colours, the naked eye typically only picks out white flashes or flickering that can be mistaken for clouds. It is only once you do a long exposure with a camera that the colours come to life and vivid greens and blues present themselves. There are instances when viewing coloured light can be possible but this is rare. The lights have been described as “dancing” and making magical movements that shoot up into the atmosphere. Image thanks to Pierre Destribats.
The further south you are the better, popular viewing spots are South Arm Peninsula (40 km southeast of Hobart) and Cockle Creek on the southern tip of Tasmania (120 km southwest of Hobart).
In South Arm Peninsula photographers rave about the reflection shots they capture - the wide bay allows for an expansive view. Other popular sites for viewing are Dodges Ferry, Rosny Hill, Howden, Seven Mile and Tinderbox. If you’re going to try and view the lights closer to Hobart, try places with a broad horizon such as Mount Nelson or Mount Wellington. Both are easily accessible from the city and sometimes attract a small crowd. Bring a jacket as it will get cold!
You have a chance to catch this entertaining light show at any time of the year. All it takes is the occurrence of sunspots and the coronal mass ejection to create this stellar show. This is quite special since the Northern lights have a tighter timeframe. Overall, it is quite unpredictable and sometimes space weather maps can help, but the sun will ultimately determine its arrival.
Winter is ideal when the nights are longer and provide a greater window of opportunity.
If you’re in Tassie, and in the mood chase them, current updates are available on a popular Facebook page (Aurora Australis Tasmania) or you can log into any one of the apps that exist for such a purpose (Star Walk and Aurora Forecast to name a few).
If you’re lucky enough to witness the event, you’ll want to be prepared and capture the image forever.An SLR camera set to manual mode with a tripod is the best way to ensure a stable and clear image. Seek out a wide lens which will allow for maximum light into the camera and choose the highest ISO (800 to 3200). The shutter speed should be anywhere from 5 to 15 seconds and the focus set to infinity.
You’re all set. Happy viewing!
1, 7, 9 : Pierre Destribats
2 : Dietmar Kahles
3, 6 : Tourism Tasmania & Poon Wai Nang
4, 5 : Tourism Australia & Graham Freeman
