Aurora australis creates spectacular light display over southern states

The aurora australis was on show in Australia's southern states last night. It was last seen in May. 

Pink, green, yellow and red hues could be seen across mainly Tasmania and Victoria on Tuesday night. 

According to The Bureau of Meteorology, additional CME activity from midday on Wednesday could create more visible auroras. 

Australians have been treated to another aurora display in the southern states — and there may be more chances to glimpse it ahead. 

It was only in May when one of the largest geomagnetic storms in decades set the skies alight, wowing stargazers from Australia to the US.

The phenomenon is known as aurora australis in the southern hemisphere and aurora borealis in the northern hemisphere. 

Benjamin Convery took this snap at Truganini's lookout, Bruny Island. (Supplied: Benjamin Convery )

It is caused by large expulsions of plasma and magnetic field from the Sun's corona, also known as coronal mass ejections (CME).

Overnight CME activity has provided more joy and awe, albeit on a smaller scale. 

Kim Cox got this moody shot in the southern Tasmanian region of Dunalley. (Supplied: Kim Cox)

Pink, green, yellow and red hues have been seen in the skies across Tasmania and Victoria. 

Ebony White captured these sights from Wattle Hill, in southern Tasmania, labelling them "just glorious".

Ebony White braved the cold to get this picture from Wattle Hill, Tasmania. (Supplied: Ebony White )

This red sky, photographed by Chris Chia, was even seen in rural New South Wales. 

Chris Chia took this photograph in rural NSW. The aurora is just visible in the bottom of the frame. (Supplied: Chris Chia )

Hung Nguyen is an avid aurora watcher from Tasmania. 

He travelled south of Launceston on Tuesday night to get a clear view of the display. 

Hung Nguyen captured these amazing sights from a graveyard south of Launceston. (Supplied: Hung Nguyen )

As someone who caught also May's light show, he said last night’s view was still one to see. 

"It's still great, whenever it happens it's great," he said. 

“(Tuesday night was) a very cold night, nearly zero degrees and the grass is starting to get icy but it’s always nice to be out there." 

Hung Nguyen says the aurora watching in Tasmania has become a nice social event. (Supplied: Hung Nguyen )

Andrew Cole, an astrophysicist and the head of physics at the University of Tasmania, said Tuesday night spectacle was not as large as May's but still "very spectacular".

"The event in May was kind of a once-in-two-decades event," he told ABC News Breakfast.

"The event we see going on right now is a bit more run-of-the-mill. 

"[It is] still fantastic if you're out there in dark sky looking at it."

In the US, the light show could be seen in Alaska and Oregon, according to social media reports.

Benjamin Convery captured this image in Bruny Island, Tasmania. (Supplied: Benjamin Convery )

According to the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM)'s space weather forecasting centre, additional CME activity from midday Wednesday could result in more visible auroras during night-time hours. 

Mr Cole said this could be within the next 18—24 hours. 

Elizabeth Palmer captured this image in the Midlands in Tasmania. (Supplied: Elizabeth Palmer )

"And then it's just a matter of wait-and-see when the next one might be," he said. 

"It could be in a month, it could be six months, or you might have to wait 20 years, like we did to see the ones we saw back in May."

The BOM issues alerts when weather there is favourable weather to view the auroras. 

Stargazers can also check out NOAA's 30-minute prediction website or local aurora hunter Facebook groups.

Another fantastic photo from Wattle Hill, Tasmania.  (Supplied: Ebony White )

Geomagnetic storms are rated on what is known as the G-scale, ranging from G1 (minor) to G5 (extreme), according to the BOM. The storm in May was rated as a G5.

The current forecast for Australia is G2 (moderate) from July 30 to August 1.