Aurora australis

I woke up at 3:30am and looked out the window and could see clear skies and some colour. A quick picture with the phone confirmed that there were lights.
Tempted to go into the backyard and get some shots, but then I realised the tripod was in the car, so I decided on going to the beach and see what I could capture.
It was freezing cold, but I was happy with the results!

Auroras are the result of disturbances in the magnetosphere caused by the solar wind. Major disturbances result from enhancements in the speed of the solar wind from coronal holes and coronal mass ejections. These disturbances alter the trajectories of charged particles in the magnetospheric plasma. These particles, mainly electrons and protons, precipitate into the upper atmosphere (thermosphere/exosphere). The resulting ionization and excitation of atmospheric constituents emit light of varying colour and complexity. The form of the aurora, occurring within bands around both polar regions, is also dependent on the amount of acceleration imparted to the precipitating particles.Read more