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Aurora Australis of October - November 2003

During the period of October to November of 2003 there was a period of intense solar activity, somwhat unexpected as the sun wides down from a solar maximum in 2001. This solar activity resulted in a large number of Aurora, in particular many visible from Perth and country areas of Western Australia.

Cause of Aurora

See the bottom of this page for information and photography relating to what causes Aurora. During this period of Aurora activity in 2003 we were lucky to also capture images of the Sun, showing the Sunspot activity which produced the Aurora Australis.

Archive of 2003 Aurora Images

Aurora Australis with the LMC, SMC and South Celestial Pole

 Aurora Long Exposure
This photograph of the Aurora was taken in late October. Taken out in the Wheatbelt country this is a long exposure showing the glow of the Aurora's with startrails surrounding the Souther Celestial Pole and the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds above.

As a result of the long exposure and the fluid changing nature of the Aurora the red colour has blurred into a general glow along the horizon. This was towards the end of Aurora activity for the night. Visible across the top of the image are the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds. These clouds are actually satellite galaxies of our own Milky Way. Only visible from the Southern Hemisphere they are visible as naked eye clouds in the southern sky.
Aurora Australis showing the verticle pillars of Aurora. Aurora in the Western Australian Wheatbelt
Taken just prior to the above photograph this shorter exposure (less than one minute at 400ASA and F4) shows the verticle bars of the Aurora. Also shown are the Southern Cross and Pointers (top left down to lower centre).
Aurora Australis in Perth, Western Australia Aurora in Perth, Western Australia
Also in this period of Aurora Activity was a very strong storm in November. During this one night of the 21st November Aurora activity continued from 8pm until 4am (local Perth time). This storm of amazing length and brightness produced Aurora which lit up the landscape like a full moon. This image is an example of what was seen.

Strong colour and shifting verticle pillars visible right overhead and to the north are extremely rare in lattitudes as high as Perth, but this proved it is not impossible.
The Sun and sunspots related to the above Aurora. Sunspots
Aurora can be partially attributed to Sunspots. Sunspots are areas on the sun that contain concentrations of magnetic flux and are cooler than the surrounding area. They appear in photographs as dark spots. Eruptions can occur from sunspots resulting in a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME). If the solar wind generated from the CME colides with Earth's atmosphere an Aurora may occur.

This photograph of the sun was taken during the intense period of solar activity which resulted in the Aurora photographs above. Sunspots #486 and #488 resulted in much of the solar activity during this period, unleashing multiple CME's.