It's show time -- again.
Just three months after Australians were given a spectacular light show by Aurora Australis, it's happened again.
On Tuesday morning, people were treated to a show of nature normally reserved for those much further south. Off the coasts of Australia -- from Perth to Sydney -- the Southern Lights could be seen at daybreak, while New Zealand also got a fine show.
Its sister phenomenon -- known as Aurora Borealis or the Northern Lights -- was also expected to occur in parts of the northern hemisphere Tuesday morning, in places far from its regular home of the Arctic. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Space Weather Prediction Center had advised Aurora watchers in the northern U.S. states to be on alert from Monday night through to Tuesday morning.
The natural occurrence was caused by an intense solar storm, which reached G4 magnitude on Monday. It happens when hot plasma bursts shoot from the sun and collide.
Caitlin Gordon's photo will be featured on @abcnews weather tonight in #Victoria. Here's some of here other photos. pic.twitter.com/Gvy8naIAdn— ABC Gippsland (@abcgippsland) June 23, 2015
Auroras are created when charged particles in space interact with Earth's magnetic field, exciting neutrally charged particles in Earth's upper atmosphere. Once agitated,
Those who rose early on Tuesday were treated to the rare beauty, but in case you put your head back under the doona, here is a collection of the top shots from Down Under and New Zealand.
So this happened in Jindabyne this morning! Stunning #AuroraAustralis thx to Moonbah Huts pic.twitter.com/31OOLvlv0q— SNOWSEARCH australia (@SNOWSEARCH_aus) June 22, 2015
#AuroraAustralis from Perth Metro Coast @tweetperth @WestAustralia @7NewsPerth @9NewsPerth @perthnow @TheWAWG pic.twitter.com/vBWQmjKl8w— Jacqui (@JacquiImages) June 22, 2015
Ever seen #auroraaustralis reflecting off the ocean? I have! :) @ClearSkiesTV @TamithaSkov @EpicCosmos @SussanSays pic.twitter.com/sgL4vB8q3Q— Photography by Rudi (@rudiphoto) June 22, 2015
BEEEEAAAAAMS!!! At 5:54 AM! From #Kiama NSW @EpicCosmos @TamithaSkov @SussanSays @Aus_ScienceWeek @ObservingSpace pic.twitter.com/XViEFdkCBj— Photography by Rudi (@rudiphoto) June 22, 2015
Thanks to Andrea Evans for sharing her photos of the #auroraaustralis with us. #spaceweather #aurora pic.twitter.com/faQvXLIdLB— SKY NEWS WEATHER (@SkyWeatherAUS) June 23, 2015