I’ve been feeling pretty disappointed about missing out on seeing the Southern Lights in May 2024 when there was such a big storm and a great opportunity to see them in Melbourne. I knew the sun’s active phase should soon draw to a close and I’d missed a few more Melbourne sightings. G has been monitoring the Facebook Aurora sighting pages and he let me know yesterday that there was strong activity which if it continued into the night was likely to result in a visible Aurora over Victoria. Since I am at Point Lonsdale (on the southern coast of Victoria) I would be in an even better position to see an Aurora if it showed. In the evening I almost forgot, but G reminded me with a text just as I was heading to bed, so mum and I went down to the beach to have a look. It was so busy down there, with everyone hoping for a glimpse.
When we arrived at 10:15 pm the Aurora already on showing. Since Victoria is not that far south in the scheme of things (nearly 6000K from the south pole) it is fairly difficult to see. What we saw last night with the naked eye was initially that the sky in that area was a lot brighter than it would normally be. As the light got brighter though we could distinguish a faint green and purple tinge (very faint to the naked eye—you could just tell that the light was a slightly different colour). When the rays appeared they were easily visible to the naked eye as bright white rays.
The camera picks up all the colours though. There were a number of people with tripods set up, but most people, including me, were just using Iphones. The red colour of the rocks and sand in my photos is from the red lights on the lighthouse that was behind us.
At about 10:40 pm the rays disappeared and the light reduced in brightness so we headed home because mum and I are still coughing a lot and need our sleep. This is was real bucket list experience for me and now I can tick it off my list.
Comments
13 responses to “I Saw The Southern Lights!”
WOW! I am so glad you were able to catch that! What an experience. The photos are amazing!
This is spectacular, Melissa! And your iPhone photos capture it beautifully!
Beautiful!!!
I have seen the Northern Lights, but since I was in the city they didn’t show up quite as dramatically. Still amazing, nature is wonderful.
Wow, that is spectacular!! I am so glad you were able to see that with your mom. I have never seen the Northern Lights. They tend to happen when I am sound asleep but I do want to make a point to see them when I can be more flexible with my bedtime! I don’t think we get those purple colors, though! I think they are more green! And the contrast w/ the red sand is especially gorgeous! Thank you for sharing!!
These photos are INCREDIBLE. I’ve seen the Northern Lights twice in my life and they were stunning, but now I need to add See Southern Lights to my bucket list.
MELISSA!!!
Gorgeous photos thank you for sharing with all of us. A moment filled with awe.
So very cool. I’m so glad it worked out for you. We just played a game and had to rank the top 5 things people had on their bucket list and seeing the northern lights was one that people ranked high. I think this was the first year I even heard of northern lights.
I can imagine there are a lot of people who would like to see them. If they announce on the news that there’s a likelihood of seeing them there is always a crowd of people at the various south facing beaches here.
It’s so pretty! What a great way to start 2026.
Yeahhhh. I am so happy you were able to see them and have this bucket list item checked. I Also ventured out with the husband that night and I know what you say what is visable with the naked it eye. If it wasn’t for the aurora app I would have not classified it as northern lights. I was amazed what the camera saw because with the naked eye it was hard.
I am so happy for you.
Unlike the Northern Hemisphere there is not much land mass at southern altitudes. (and I am not going to Antarctica!!) Melbourne is at a similar latitude to Seville, so I am very happy to have been able to see the Southern lights
Wow, that is so cool! I have been in the far north and the far south and yet have never seen the northern or southern lights! It has been on my list for a long time and I will keep trying, but as of yet, no luck! Your photos are great and the fact that you could see them from the beach is even cooler. I have probably missed the lights several times due to the fact that I go to bed fairly early. I camped above the Arctic circle in Sweden in September and even then the days were too long so the sky did not darken enough!
We are not usually up late enough to see them either. I hope one day you see them.