Australians could experience another rare weather phenomenon.
Experts are keeping a close eye on the increased activity on the sun. For example, Dr Brett Carter, Associate Professor at the RMIT School of Science, revealed that aurora borealis could be visible on Tuesday night.
The Northern Lights, also known as the Southern Lights, are usually seen in Tasmania.
However, in May the largest geomagnetic storm in almost 20 years occurred, providing stargazers in Victoria, South Australia and around the world with excellent views of this rare event.
Shades of pink, purple and green lit up the sky, delighting average Australians and avid stargazers alike.
A new geomagnetic storm is now expected, expected to be strongest on Tuesday evening.
This could give residents of southern Victoria and Western Australia the chance to witness this colourful phenomenon.
“If this storm turns out to be as powerful as predicted, there is a good chance the Northern Lights could even be seen in parts of New South Wales and South Australia,” Professor Carter said.
Experts are closely monitoring the increased activity on the Sun, with Associate Professor Dr Brett Carter from the RMIT School of Science revealing that the Northern Lights could be visible on Tuesday evening
The weather phenomenon is caused by coronal mass ejections (CMEs), which are clouds of charged particles and magnetic fields that can interact with Earth’s magnetic field and atmosphere, creating colorful aurora borealis.
“Both solar flares and coronal mass ejections (bursts of solar material into space) have been observed since Saturday morning,” Professor Carter said.
‘There are at least two coronal mass ejections en route to Earth.
‘They are forecast to merge into one disturbance expected to arrive Tuesday morning.
‘The magnitude of the geomagnetic storm causing these outbursts is expected to be at its greatest on the evening of Tuesday 30 July, when Australians in southern Victoria and Western Australia may see some aurora if conditions are right.’
It is unclear exactly when the solar storm will reach Australia and the chance of seeing an aurora is ‘very uncertain’.
“The main problem in predicting the impact of such events on Earth is that we don’t know the magnetic field within the eruption,” Professor Carter said.
‘Disturbances with a southward magnetic field have a significantly greater impact than disturbances that occur northward.
“We currently have no reliable way to predict the magnetic field in solar flares.”
According to Professor Carter, more research is needed, more data and better models are needed to predict the space environment.
It is unclear what time the solar storm will reach Australia, and the chance of seeing an aurora is ‘very uncertain’
“We can’t say for sure how this space weather phenomenon will develop,” he said.
‘We just have to wait and see what data comes in and determine whether conditions are right for viewing the aurora.
To know whether it’s worth packing up the camera gear and heading out into dark, clear skies, keep an eye on incoming space weather data and your social media feeds.
‘People love to share their beautiful photos of the Northern Lights online.’
