Aurora australis and bioluminescence captured together in a “magnificent” light show

Tasmanian photographers witnessed a spectacular light show at night, both in the sky and in the water.

The Australian aurora was captured at several sites around Hobart, including South Arm, Howden, and Taroona.

The clear skies provided perfect viewing conditions, with photographers raving on social media to share their snaps of the purple and green dancing lights.

Some even managed the “dazzling duo,” capturing both southern lights and bioluminescence in the water.

Tim Grimsey wrote: “Last night Tasmania was treated with a magnificent Australian aurora. Huge naked eye rays and lots of color.”

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Sophie Fazackerley wrote: “Wowee! The #aurora is out to play! It’s been a while since the last strong moonlit aurora.”

The mysterious natural phenomenon occurs when high-energy particles charged by the Sun, such as electrons, enter the Earth’s atmosphere.

They are most likely to occur during a geomagnetic storm, but the Bureau of Meteorology said the degree of geomagnetic activity was only moderate during the night.

It seems that the “aurora hunters” were lucky with a particularly clear night, rays to the naked eye and many colors.

Bioluminescence is caused by microscopic plankton.

Professor Gustaaf Hallegraeff said it was first spotted in coastal waters of New South Wales in the late 1800s.

“As far as we know, no one had ever seen it in Tasmania before the 1990s,” he said.

He said the light was caused by a chemical reaction.

“It can work as a burglar alarm, because there are a lot of organisms that might want to eat it … then it’s agitated by some physical irritation, vibration and produces this flash,” he said.

He said the best places to see it in Tasmania were Preservation Bay in the north, Bicheno on the east coast and Eaglehawk Neck, South Arm, Bruny Island, Hinsby Beach, Nutgrove, and Rosny in the south.