According to the Bureau of Meteorology, those in southern Victoria and Tasmania can expect a rare glimpse of an Aurora Australis over the next two nights. Not to be confused with the Aurora Borealis, or a fire in Seymour Skinner’s kitchen, the Aurora Australis occurs at the bottom of the southern hemisphere and is best visible from Antarctica, Tasmania and southern parts of Victoria.
It’s impossible to guarantee whether or not an aurora will occur, but the BoM has been monitoring the conditions and is pretty confident that we’ll get lucky tonight and tomorrow night. To see an aurora with the naked eye, conditions have to be just right, so the BoM has offered some tips on planning your vantage point.
It’s best to find somewhere offering unobstructed views to the south, like a beach or hill, with as little light pollution as possible. Timing is everything, too, with the BoM’s space weather expert, Dr Zahra Bouya, recommending sky gazers keep their eyes peeled between 3am and 5am.
Tonight is expected to be pretty overcast so Dr Bouya recommends waiting until Thursday night to try your luck if you’re in Victoria. As for Tasmania, she suggests heading to the east coast, north of Hobart, tonight or tomorrow night to catch a glimpse.
