Aurora australis: southern lights to be visible across large parts of Australia amid severe solar storm

Skywatchers may be treated to a celestial delight on Wednesday evening, with a severe solar storm making it possible to view the southern lights across large parts of Australia – possibly including Sydney and Perth .

An intense geomagnetic storm, caused by several powerful bursts of energy from the sun, has led the Bureau of Meteorology’s space weather forecasting centre to issue an aurora alert for “mid to southern parts of Australia”.

Displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, were visible in the northern hemisphere overnight on Tuesday.

Where might their southern counterpart, the aurora australis, be visible? What impacts might the severe solar storm have? Here’s what to expect. Aurora australis: southern lights dazzle across New Zealand and Australia’s e