Aurora Australis from Royal National Park! This is AMAZING.

The big solar storm that is passing us this week, triggered nu a coronal mass ejection from the Sun has produced a class G4 / G5 geomagnetic storm.

Our magnetosphere deflects most of the particles from Sun away, but near the poles, some spiral down and excite our atmosphere - producing aurora.

This storm was powerful enough to generate aurora sightings as far north as Coonabarabran and the Siding Spring Observatory. That's around 340 km NW of Sydney (closer to the equator, at 31 degrees south!)

While city lights drowned out the view for many, those under darker skies were treated to an extraordinary show. This stunning timelapse footage, captured by my friend Filippo Rivetti from Royal National Park south of Sydney, offers a glimpse of the awe-inspiring beauty and planetary-scale force of this event.

A reminder of the vast, dynamic forces at play: a star lashing out across space, and a planet, our home planet with its protective magnetic shield - hosting the only life we know of so far in the Universe, safely within.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXP49hxf9ck

#AuroraAustralis #SolarStorm #SpaceWeather #Astrophysics #CMEs #Magnetosphere #Astrodon