Aurora Australis Alert: Get Outside Tonight The Sky Might Just Glow

Alright, folks. Grab your jumper and head for the hills (or the beach). An alert has just dropped from the Australian Space Weather Forecasting Centre (ASWFC) for the kind of light show you won’t want to miss if the skies behave. The glorious Aurora Australis (Southern Lights) could be visible tonight if conditions line up.

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Will The Aurora Australis Be Visible Tonight?

Short answer: quite possibly. The ASWFC has issued an Aurora Alert, which means a geomagnetic storm is in progress and conditions are favourable for a visible aurora in high-latitude Southern Australia. That means, if you’re in the right place at the right time, and the skies are clear, you might just catch the sky doing its dance.

Where And When Can I See The Aurora Australis?

Where: Your best bet is as far south as you can get, away from city lights. Tasmania has the best odds, as well as New Zealand's South Island.

Mainland Southern Australia (Victoria, southern NSW, South Australia) may also get a show, but you’ll want very dark skies and minimal light pollution. 

Generally between about 10pm and 2am local time is the sweet spot. Displays typically last 1–3 hours. Use the ASWFC’s auroral oval tool to check if your latitude is inside the “equatorward visibility line” for tonight. 

What Causes The Aurora Australis Lights?

Gather 'round, it's science time. When the sun flings charged particles out—solar wind, coronal mass ejections (CMEs)—they travel toward Earth and hit our planet’s magnetic field. Once trapped, they interact with molecules in the upper atmosphere (oxygen, nitrogen), releasing light. The result is those swirling, shimmering bands of green, red, and purple you see in photos. 

Think of it as Earth’s magnetic show, powered by solar storms. The bigger the storm (higher K-index), the further south you might be able to see the lights. 

How To Up Your Chances Of Seeing Aurora Australis

• Head away from city lights; any glow from the horizon ruins it.
• Choose a location with clear skies, minimal cloud cover.
• Hang around the time frame, around midnight (10pm–2am) for best viewing.
• Look south (for us in Australia) and scan the low horizon, especially if the conditions push the visibility northwards.
• Bring a camera and tripod: your eyes might catch it, but sometimes the camera sees more.
• If you’re in a high-latitude spot (Tasmania), you’re already winning. Mainland? More challenging, but not impossible.

Why Now? Is 2025 Special?

This year has been flagged as a strong one for the Southern Lights. The storm that triggered tonight’s alert is part of broader geomagnetic activity expected to produce more vivid auroras, possibly one of the brightest ones we’ve seen in a while.

Missed the light show? Don't worry, Mother Nature puts one on every night, here's the top spots in to score a free camping site and get amongst it.