Aussies could get rare glimpse of Aurora Australis this week

Australians could be in with a rare chance to see an aurora light up the night sky this week, thanks to increased solar activity.

Tonight and tomorrow night will offer the best opportunities for Aurora Australis enthusiasts to catch the dramatic light show, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.

The top viewing spots in Australia will be in parts of Tasmania and southern Victoria.

Bureau of Meteorology Space Weather expert Zahra Bouya said the aurora was caused by several eruptions on the sun’s surface, which were rare for this time of the solar cycle.

"We are currently monitoring two coronal mass ejections (CMEs), which are large clouds of plasma that are ejected from the sun and travel at high speeds through space. They are both relatively slow moving and our model predictions have them passing over us on 15 and 16 May,” Dr Bouva said.

"When this material reaches Earth, most of it is deflected by the planet’s magnetic field. But as the CME passes over the Earth its magnetic field may connect with ours allowing huge amounts of energy to be transferred to our magnetic field, generating geomagnetic storms that can last for two or three days and produce dramatic auroras over successive nights," she said.

But increasing your chances of getting a glimpse of the spectacular sight might require a bit of leg work and an early start.

"To see the aurora, you'll need a very dark and clear night so early morning, after the moon sets, between 3am and 5am, is best over the coming days. Headlands or a dark beach are usually the best viewing spots," Dr Bouya said.

For Tasmanians, Bureau meteorologist Philip Landvogt said the best viewing locations would be along the east coast, north of Hobart, despite a forecast of partly cloudy conditions. 

"In southern Victoria, cloudy skies are forecast on Wednesday with the best viewing conditions expected on Thursday night when it will be mostly clear with just some isolated fog patches," he said.