By Harry Whitford

What is aurora australis? The name 'Aurora' comes from the Latin word for sunrise or the Roman goddess of dawn. An aurora is a natural light display in the sky, usually of greenish color but sometimes red or blue. This natural phenomenon usually occurs in areas known as the 'auroral zone' near the poles of the arctic in the north and Antarctic in the south.

Why is it caused? The effect is known as the aurora borealis (or the Northern Lights) in Northern hemisphere latitudes. In Southern hemisphere latitudes the effect is known as the aurora australis (or the Southern Lights). Aurora is caused by the collision of energetically charged particles with atoms in the high altitude thermosphere within our atmosphere.

Is it related to the polar lights? Auroras are associated with the solar winds that flow past Earth. These winds flow out from the Sun and contain little bits of plasma (ionized gas) which gets pulled into the Earth's magnetic pole fields. As they accelerate towards the Earth, collisions occur between these ion particles and nitrogen and oxygen atoms in our atmosphere, releasing energy in the form of amazing aurora lights. Auroras also occur on other planets in our solar system including Jupiter, Saturn Uranus, Neptune. and Mars. Similar to Earth's aurora, the lights have been seen close to other planets magnetic poles. The Tasmanian Aoura is the same as the polar lights it is the same aoura as the polar lights.

Bibliography Website. science facts.oz