2025: The perfect year to chase the Southern Lights
2025: The Perfect Year to Chase the Southern Lights
For thousands of years, the ethereal, dancing lights of the aurora have captivated humankind. Whether seen as the aurora australis (southern lights) in the Southern Hemisphere or the aurora borealis (northern lights) in the Northern Hemisphere, this breathtaking display is one of Earth’s most stunning natural wonders.
Auroras are a direct result of solar activity: the more active the Sun, the greater the likelihood of vibrant auroral displays.
The Science Behind the Southern Lights
These displays are triggered when energised particles from the Sun, travelling at speeds of up to 72 million kph, collide with Earth’s atmosphere. Our planet’s magnetic field directs these particles towards the poles, creating the colourful curtains of light we see in the sky.
The Sun constantly emits energy and charged particles as solar wind. It also releases massive solar flares that can extend out to 300,000 kilometres. Large sunspots often indicate solar storms, which can eject huge bursts of electrified gas called coronal mass ejections (CMEs) towards Earth. When these charged particles interact with our atmosphere, they excite atmospheric gases, causing them to emit light in vibrant colours.
During solar maximum, the Sun reaches its peak activity, leading to an increase in sunspots and CMEs, and these powerful bursts of solar wind and magnetic fields amplify auroral displays.
NASA confirms that 2025 will be a prime year for aurora viewing, as it marks the peak of the Sun’s approximately 11-year solar cycle—the solar maximum. The Sun’s activity has been steadily increasing since the last solar minimum, building towards this peak and promising an exceptional “aurora season.” This increased solar activity means more frequent, intense, and widespread auroras, providing stargazers with greater opportunities to witness these breathtaking displays.
How Best to See an Aurora
The last solar maximum occurred around 2014. Since then, technological advancements have significantly improved our ability to forecast and track solar activity, with better forecasts, dedicated apps, and real-time information available through social media. Additionally, advancements in smartphone camera technology now allow for stunning aurora photography, a significant improvement from the lower-resolution cameras over a decade ago.
- Visibility: Auroras are more likely to be visible at lower latitudes during a solar maximum.
- Dark Skies: Clear, dark skies are crucial for optimal aurora viewing. To maximise your viewing experience, choose locations with minimal light pollution, such as dark-sky reserves, remote areas, or national parks.
- How to Predict Auroras: Auroras can be predicted hours or days in advance using solar observations, satellite measurements, and geomagnetic activity models.
Apps for Aurora Alerts
- Aurora Australis Western Australia Facebook Group: This is an excellent resource for knowing when the best times might be to hunt auroras from Western Australia.
- com:Receive regular alerts on unusual happenings in the sky, plus all the new info about the Sun-Earth environment, from sunspots to auroras, sprites and sun dogs.
- Australian Space Weather Forecasting Centre: Alerts come to you from the Bureau of Meteorology. The forecasting centre taps into a network of sensors in Australia, New Zealand, and Antarctica, bringing you the latest space weather and aurora alerts.
- My Aurora Forecast & Alerts App: It’s your go-to app, providing specific info for seeing the Aurora Australis, tailored to your location. The app provides aurora alerts, including how likely you are to see the aurora, with details including solar winds and high-resolution sun imagery.
Even with promising forecasts, patience is essential, as seeing an aurora is never guaranteed, even under seemingly perfect conditions. However, witnessing these dazzling ribbons of colour illuminating the night sky is an unforgettable and truly incredible experience, well worth the wait.
by Donna Vanzetti – Star Tracks Astro Events
To gain more insights from a seasoned aurora hunter, we caught up with Roger Groom of Astro Photography Australia, who shared his valuable tips and advice.
How long have you been hunting auroras, and how did you get into it in the first place?
The first time I remember learning of aurora was in 2003 when I was at an Astro Camp run by the Astronomical Society of Western Australia down at Dryandra. There was this shriek of excitement and yelling from the observing field, and when I went down, I could see pink on the southern horizon. That was an awesome experience, with fellow astronomers on a dark observing field, before the days of digital cameras and laptop screens being everywhere.
What has been a highlight or memorable experience during that time?
One highlight for me was later in 2003 when I was doing astrophotography in my backyard observatory, in the hills of Perth. All night I was complaining to myself about kangaroo shooter spotlights in the bush to the south, thinking how they were likely ruining my astrophotography (slide film at that stage).
It turned out that only after putting an early Olympus 2020Z digital camera piggyback on my telescope and facing it south did I realise it was a pink and green aurora! So incredibly bright, the beams looked like spotlights moving behind the trees. My film photographs of Orion, high up in the northern sky, were awash with pink from the aurora. This 2003 event was the strongest in recent times. The aurora continued all night.
Where are your favourite spots to view the auroras?
Needing only a southern horizon, ideally clear of large obstructions and light pollution, there are many possibilities in WA, and everyone will have their own. For me, I live near Lake Leschenaultia, so that is my convenient go-to location where I have been doing nightscapes since the early 2000s.
Other locations include many in the central wheatbelt. Reserves and lookouts, roads oriented approximately north-south. I’m fortunate to have my own private dark sky property in the wheatbelt where many of my photographs are taken and on occasion one of my nightscape workshop groups is graced with an aurora!
Dryandra, near Narrogin in the wheatbelt, remains a good location for aurora and other astrophotography, particularly as facing south for aurora you will be less impacted by the Boddington Goldmine to the west. Dryandra has accommodation and other attractions, making the trip more worthwhile even if no aurora is seen.
What advice would you give to someone who also wants to experience the auroras themselves?
Perhaps the biggest thing is to make what you can of the opportunity, being prepared for nothing to eventuate. For me, this means taking nightscapes and other astrophotography and hopefully capturing aurora in the meantime. Compose your exposures for a generally pleasing nightscape or timelapse, and the aurora becomes a bonus.
If you’re new to aurora chasing, taking friends or family with you is almost a must. Having company, you’re less likely to get spooked and leave or have the time go slowly, meaning you leave before the aurora action starts. It’s much easier to pass the time and have fun with some company.
This story can be found in the 133rd edition of Western 4W Driver at issuu.com
