Parts of southern Australia just witnessed one of the best Aurora Australis displays in recent years during a severe geomagnetic storm on Monday morning.

Skies across southern Australia were illuminated by the ethereal lights of the Aurora Australis on Monday morning, with sightings reported from Tasmania up to central NSW and across to SA and WA.

Image: Aurora Australis at Lake Lonsdale, Vic on April 24, 2023. Source: @akelly62_photography / Instagram

Image: Aurora in Wagga Wagga, NSW early on Monday, April 24, 2023. Source: @oldkentuckyanimalfarm / Instagram

Monday morning's vivid southern lights were caused by a severe geomagnetic storm that reached level four on a five-tiered G-scale used by the Australian Space Weather Alert System.

These G4 events occur roughly 20 times during each 11-year solar cycle. They are severe geomagnetic storms that can affect power grids, satellites, communication networks and aircraft navigation. They are also known to trigger the Aurora Australis (southern lights) and aurora borealis (northern lights) in unusually low latitudes.

Monday’s G4 event produced an aurora that could be seen from Dubbo and Wagga Wagga in NSW and Kalgoorlie in WA. However, the brightest lights were seen further south, from the darkest areas of Tasmania.

Image: Bright Aurora Australis and a possible meteorite seen from Tasmania on April 24. 2023. Source: @mantisalive / Instagram

Image: Early morning colours in Heathcote, Vic on April 24, 2023. Source: @c.knightimages / Instagram

Image: Aurora Australis seen from Inverloch, Vic on April 24. 2023. Source: @tompasco / Instagram

You can check the latest aurora advisories from the Bureau of Meteorology’s Space Weather Service here.