Southern Aurora

The Southern Aurora was a train. I think you mean the Aurora Australis

Hi GN,

I have never seen one but am very interested in any replies.

Would you share when / where you last saw the aurora?

cheers

Ben

Aurora Australis occurs in the southern latitudes usually at the peak of the 11 year sun-spot cycle.

I have only ever seen one, on one night. It was in 1989 I think right in the middle of Perth city, and it was a beautiful thing...amazing colour swishing about the sky. It would have been great to see it away from the city lights.

It does take a massive coronal outburst from the sun during one of the sunspot cycles.

Last time i saw one was in SW WA!

I was out spotlighting foxes late one night int9o the early morning, on top of the Escarpement.

The red swirling glow was so bright red and so widespread - i would have sworn there was a massive massive forest fire headed our way - and almost rang the authorities - to report it.

We kept driving east to try and sight the flames - hours later we conceded it had to be a Aurora Australis, coz we never did get to see any flames!

As a pro forester & fire fighter, it had me fooled.

I forget what year it was.

Theres a way to predict sun spots - something to do with two massive dense cores within the sun that oscillate - I did see a drawing somewhere on the net once that made sense.

Sun has 2 north poles and 2 south poles and they osscillate in relation to each other creating the 11 year sunspot cycles where the massive coronal ejections eventuate as a result.

That's as much as I can remember bout it.

Google is your friend.

Cheers

Saw a couple over the years when I was still on the farm in the South of WA, The red/orange colour behind the Stirlings very memorable. Would love to see another now that I'm older and probably appreciate it more.

Cheers

Deanna

saw the tail end of one in perhaps 1981
- definitly not a common thing

It's a long time since I was interested in this subject and science has moved ahead big time ! From memory, the sun goes through an eleven year cycle going from quiet (little sun spot activity) to the most active with lots of sun spots. The solar wind carries radiation from the sun spots to the earth where it is captured by the earth's magnetic field in the Van Allen radiation belts. This creates auroras By my calculations the next high activity period should be in about 2013 (I may have mis calculated so you will need to check this). I do know that there is almost nil sunspot activity at the moment.

http://www.solarcycle24.com/

If you know an active HF radio ham then ask them as sun spot activity effects HF radio transmissions.

The further south you go the better to see the 'southern lights' Take a trip to Invercargill NZ or perhaps the bottom of Tasie.

KK

Subscribe to Space Weather
Aurora is caused by disturbances in Earth Geomagnetic field, often by coronal mass ejections from the sun. More prominent in the peak of the sun spot cycle.
The effect on HF radio can be to knock out communications. On VHF frequencies - 50 & 144 Mhz amateur bands, you can transmit into the aurora which consists of a curtain of rapidly moving vertical electrons. The effect is to remove much of the intelligence from the transmission. Morse code sounds flat & voice is very distorted.
See files here vk2flr
Fascinating stuff!

Cheers Tony (VK3CAT)