Partly cloudy with a chance of glowing aurora lights in Gippsland
Grab your camera and thermos, the Bureau of Meteorology has issued a three-day aurora alert.
Jacob Wallace
June 02, 2025
The weather forecast for southern parts of Gippsland tonight is partly cloudy with a chance of a geomagnetic storm.
That might sound ominous, but a geomagnetic storm is a harmless phenomenon that brings with it the chance to see aurora australis, or the southern lights, a colourful display that lights up the sky at nighttime.
The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a three-day aurora alert from June 1, stating that “aurora may be observed during local nighttime hours in good observing conditions”.
The Gippsland Monitor went to a lookout south of Korumburra last night but unfortunately wasn’t able to see any southern lights.
What is an aurora australis?
An aurora australis is a phenomenon that occurs when a solar storm from the sun interacts with the magnetic field around the Earth. This interaction causes the night sky to light up.
The phenomenon is called the aurora borealis in the northern hemisphere and aurora australis in the southern hemisphere.
Here’s a more in-depth explanation:
Where can I see it?
The further south you go the higher chance you have of observing the lights. Southern parts of Victoria don’t always get visible lights from the geomagnetic storms but there’s a chance you might see some glowing colours in the sky tonight or tomorrow night.
The Gippsland Monitor will be out looking at the sky again tonight – but if you happen to catch the aurora australis and you want to share your videos/photos, send us some footage and we could share it in our newsletter. Just email [email protected]
Image credit: Gavin Treadgold.
