Aussie stargazers will be treated to a dazzling light show over the next two nights after a massive solar burst.
The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) predicted the unusual solar winds to spark a visible Aurora Australis on Friday and Saturday nights.
The phenomena, also known as the Southern Lights, is caused by solar activity interacting with the Earth’s magnetic field.
It is more active in locations with minimal light pollution such as rural beaches or a hill as far south as possible to be closer to the South Pole.
BOM’s Space Weather Forecasting Centre said that a ‘coronal mass ejection’ is expected to hit Earth by midnight on Friday.
‘Possibly resulting in significant geomagnetic activity and visible auroras during local nighttime hours,’ the statement reads.
The centre will issue further alerts if ‘significant geomagnetic activity actually occurs’.
It comes just months after the Southern Lights lit up skies from Tasmania to as far north to Mackay after a huge geomagnetic storm in May.
Aussie stargazers could soon be treated to a stunning display of aurora australis (pictured), or the Southern Lights, on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights
Monash School of Physics and Astronomy Associate Professor Michael Brown said it was hard to predict how bright the phenomena will be.
‘The sun has been particularly active this week and could lead to excellent auroral displays on Thursday, Friday or Saturday night,’ he told Nine News.
‘Exactly when the best aurora will be visible is unclear, as aurora can be fickle and fleeting.
‘But there are aurora spotting social media accounts that can help tell you what’s visible from your part of Australia at any given hour.’
Professor Brown said stargazers lucky enough to spot the lights should take photos with their phones, which can bring out colours not ‘apparent to the unaided eye’.
New Zealanders have already been treated to the phenomena which lit up skies across the South Island on Tuesday night.
Residents from Christchurch to Queenstown shared images of stunning pink, purple and green rays of light dancing across the night sky.
Similar images flooded social media during May’s light show as millions of Aussies had their backyards lit up in the middle of the night.
The storm reached G4 geomagnetic storm level, considered severe, which hadn’t been seen over Aussie skies since 2004.
The light show could soon be visible over southern skies after significant geomagnetic activity from the sun strikes the Earth’s magnetic field
While some Aussies were treated to the spectacular phenomena, Sydneysiders and Canberrans missed out due to dark clouds and rain covering the view.
Australian Space Weather Forecasting Centre manager Kate Brand said geomagnetic storms are not dangerous to humans but can impact technology and communication infrastructure.
‘For example, satellites could be impacted which are used for position navigation and timing, it can cause increased currents in the power network and things like high frequency, or HF communication, can also be impacted,’ she said at the time.
The colourful storms are also forecast across the Northern Hemisphere, known as Aurora Borealis or the Northern Lights, this week.
NASA astronaut, Matthew Dominick, managed to film the display dancing over the Earth while aboard the Dragon Endeavour spacecraft.
Over half of the United States is expected to see some form of the Northern Lights thanks to the storm, which is now graded as ‘severe’ in the Northern Hemisphere.
