Aurora Australis: Perth Observatory explains cause of sky show that wowed residents as far north as Lancelin
WA residents were treated to a dazzling sky show on Monday night with the Aurora Australis surpassing previous displays, and seen as far north as Lancelin.
Perth Observatory raved about the southern lights in a post on its Facebook page saying it even beat the spectacle that wowed stargazers last week.
“We thought last Tuesday’s auroral display was excellent; well, the Sun showed us last night. Check out the aurora we captured last night up on the walkway of our Lowell Telescope Dome.”
Photographer Vicki-Louise was thrilled when she was able to snap her first ever aurora. Credit: VLWphotography/VLWphotography
They then went on to explain why it was so strong, writing: ”A magnetic filament connected to sunspot AR3229 erupted on the 24th of Feb, producing a chain reaction of events.
“The eruption triggered a long-duration M-class (medium intensity) solar flare, which passed us in 10 minutes. But it’s what came next that brought the aurora. A partially earth-directed Coronal Mass Ejection (CME). CMEs are blasts of charged plasma from the sun’s outer layers.
“They travel much slower than flares, taking a few days to reach us, and they can cause beautiful auroras while causing headaches for some radio and satellite operators.
“This one caused auroras for over 16 hours in the northern and southern skies.”
Perth Observatory noted Monday night’s display even surpassed the one which wowed stargazers last week. Credit: Perth Observatory/Twitter
Reports poured in from all over Perth and as far away as Lancelin and Kalgoorlie with people sharing photos and describing with wonder what they were able to see from their own backyards, looking south towards the Southern Cross.
Although, many noted they needed a camera to pick up the colours that were not always visible to the human eye.
“Wow! I was hanging out the washing & thought the sunset was hanging around!” wrote one person.
This photo taken in Cunderdin, in the Wheatbelt 150km east of Perth, captured the beauty of the aurora and the stars. Credit: Christopher Harvey/Christopher Harvey
Photographer Scott McDonald wrote on Facebook that he was still in shock at what he witnessed in Lancelin.
“It is not very often you get the southern lights this strong and to see it 125km north of Perth Western Australia was just as crazy and will be hard to sleep tonight what a rush,” he wrote.
Another photographer, Vicki Louise, said it was the first time she had ever captured an aurora, writing “Well I didn’t have this on the 2023 bingo card but here we are. My first ever Aurora Australis shot!!!!”
“This was shot at Mount Dale & yes I completely am overwhelmed at the significance of the name — just an hour east of my house.”
Lake Leschenaultia in Chidlow and North Ledge Lookout at Mundaring Weir were the best places to see it in Perth, according to the observatory.