Geoff Borg's great photo of the aurora australis as seen from Appila, South Australia.
Geoff Borg's great photo of the aurora australis as seen from Appila, South Australia.
An impressive aurora australis has been seen in many parts of Australia, reportedly reaching as far north as Hamilton Island in Queensland.

Tuesday night's light show was caused by a severe solar storm hitting the Earth.

People have reported the phenomenon across Tasmania, Victoria, South Australia, New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia.

Photographs and videos show shimmering and pulsating pastel-coloured lights, through to bright pinks and purples filling the sky.

Dr Rebecca Allen, co-director of the Space Technology and Industry Institute at Swinburne University of Technology, told ABC News Radio there had been more of the events in recent times.




"The sun is still in a very active cycle, it's just coming down from its solar maximum," she said.

"So this is why we are seeing more of these coronal mass ejections.

"This is where the sun basically belches forth all of these energetic particles."

'Very, very lucky'

Dr Sara Webb, an astrophysicist with Swinburne University of Technology, said it's unusual for people to be able to see the aurora in so many locations.

"It is rare that it has crept so far up that many of us who wouldn't normally see it have experienced this, so we're very lucky in that sense," she said.

"As we head into the next 11 years or so, it will start to die down for a couple of years before building back up.

"So whenever there's a chance to spot an aurora, we also recommend people try and catch a glimpse."

The storm was also predicted to create auroras at low latitudes in the northern hemisphere.

Warnings of the severe geomagnetic storm led many to venture into their backyards to see the spectacle.

For some, it was very visible, despite the city lights.

Tasmania's Cradle Mountain is a favourite spot to catch the southern lights.

In parts of Victoria, the colours were particularly bright.

Liv Brock was lucky enough to capture the aurora australis and bioluminescence in the water at Goat Bluff.

Aurora chasers were thrilled with the display.

One user on the Aurora Australis Tasmania Facebook Page summed it up as "absolutely wow ... just wow!".

Another enthusiast said the aurora was "totally OFF THE CHARTS!!!".

Arun Chandran, who runs the Aurora Australis Facebook page, told ABC Radio Hobart the geomagnetic storm was particularly fast, with the coronal mass ejection only taking 24 hours to hit Earth.