A photographer from Gansbaai captured photos of Aurora Australis, also known as the southern lights, in Danger Bay yesterday morning.
Professional photographer Hugh-Daniel Grobler saw a message about the occurrence on a photography chat group, when he decided to take a few photos.
Also read: South African astronomy has a long, rich history of discovery – and a promising future
After spotting a glimmer of red, he headed for Danger Point, near the lighthouse.
‘On that side it was really good. It was just an incredible experience – a blood red glow,’ said Grobler, in an interview with News24.
There were also multiple reports of the space storm being visible over the southern tip of Africa ranging from Gansbaai to Namibia, as reported by News24.
This phenomenon is usually more visible to individuals living in the Earth’s northern hemisphere, according to the SA National Space Agency (Sansa).
Sky watchers are optimistic for another sighting on Saturday night as the storm continues.
Jon Ward, acting executive director at Sansa Space Science in Hermanus, stated that the severity of the impacts on technological systems could be very high from these events, as it can potentially have an impact on technology.
Sansa launched its 24/7 operational Space Weather Centre at its facility in Hermanus in November 2022 and is ‘the only accredited space weather centre’ on the African continent.
The Level 4 geostorm is caused by coronal mass ejections (CMEs) from Earth’s sun.
Space weather is caused by solar flares, CMEs, storms and the emission of millions of particles, radiation and energy into space, according to a Sansa explainer video.
Solar flares occur when ‘twisted magnet field lines suddenly snap and release massive amounts of electromagnet energy’.
Charged particles from solar storms can reach Earth in 20 minutes, and CMEs, which contain a ‘large cloud of charged particles’, take between one to four days to reach Earth.
When the magnetic field of a CME interferes with the Earth’s magnetic field it can cause a temporary disturbance, which is called a geomagnetic storm.
These types of storms can not harm life on Earth, because of the planet’s own magnetic field which shields us against solar particles and radiation.
It can, however, cause disruptions to satellites, telecommunications and location services and interrupt cellphone and satellite TV connectivity.
In severe cases, the power grid may become damaged or a radio blackout might become possible.
Also read:
Tourism in WC sees 16% increase of tourist arrivals in first quarter
Picture: Hugh-Daniel Grobler / Facebook
