Recently updated on April 22nd, 2025 at 09:56 am
You’ve heard of the Aurora Borealis, more commonly known as the Northern Lights – but have you heard of its southern sibling, Aurora Australis? The Southern Lights shouldn’t be slept on (yes, even though they occur at night), so here’s what they are and why 2025 is the best time to see Aurora Australis.
2025 is set to be a stellar year for the Southern Lights – it’s not too late to book your Down Under adventure.
1. What is Aurora Australis?
Aurora Australis (also known as the Southern Lights) is a natural phenomenon that occurs near the southern magnetic pole when solar wind, or waves of energised particles from the sun, crashes into the Earth’s upper atmosphere. They slam into the atmosphere at speeds of up to 72 million kph, but the Earth’s magnetic field protects us from these winds and particles, redirecting them to the poles of the planet. The particles release energy which then transforms into a multicolored atmospheric show.
As for the different colored light displays, it’s all to do with molecules: oxygen causes green lights at lower altitudes and red lights at higher altitudes (200 miles), while nitrogen particles cause blue or purple-red lights. Auroras with a strong green color often occur at lower altitudes, while those a pinker palette occur at higher altitudes where there’s more nitrogen.
2. Aurora Australis vs. Aurora Borealis
Aurora Borealis is the name for the phenomenon in the Northern Hemisphere, while Aurora Australis is when it occurs in the Southern Hemisphere.
While the science behind the two auroras is the same, the way they present themselves is slightly different; green is the dominant color in both auroras, though the Northern Lights colors are more often green and white (though rarely pink, purple, blue and red can be seen), while during the Southern Lights green and pink are much more common with a little blue, red and purple.
3. Where can I see the Southern Lights?
The Southern Lights occur predominantly over the Southern Ocean and parts of Antarctica, though during very intense solar activity (such as we’re experiencing in 2025) you can see the Southern Lights over Tasmania and in southern mainland Australia. Generally, the further south you go the more likely you are to see them, though the Aurora Australis has been seen as far north as southern Queensland.
Australia
Being further south than the mainland, Tasmania is one of the best places to see the Southern Lights, and interestingly even Hobart, a city known as Australia’s Antarctic gateway, will have a healthy chance of spotting them – that’s because the south geomagnetic pole is between Hobart and Antarctica, so Hobart is geomagnetically much closer to the pole, meaning increased solar activity. If you are on the mainland, then Victoria is your best bet, preferably in a national park.
New Zealand
New Zealand has been designated with several dark sky reserves, parks, and sanctuaries by DarkSky International, though wherever you are in New Zealand so long as you’re heading away from built up cities and towns, you’ll have a high chance of seeing the Southern Lights. Unsurprisingly, islands off the coast of the mainland have some of the best views of Aurora Australis, as well as national parks.
Because New Zealand has less land mass compared to the Northern Hemisphere, there are technically fewer places to spot Aurora Australis – but the benefit is that there’s also less light pollution, increasing the likelihood of seeing the lights.
4. When can I see the Southern Lights?
The best time to see the Aurora Australis is during the southern hemisphere’s winter from May to August, but between March and September your chances of seeing them will be fairly high thanks to the longer nights and darker skies.
However, this year is an exception – as NASA predicted high solar activity until the end of 2025, throughout the rest of this year your chances of spotting Aurora Australis are higher than ever, no matter the season. The sun has an 11-year cycle, and as we’re in the peak of that cycle right (the ‘solar maximum’) now the Earth is experiencing far more solar flares and geomagnetic storms than usual.
It’s not too late to become an aurora hunter – book your trip to Australia or New Zealand during 2025’s period of high solar activity!