Aurora Australis with Large & Small Magellanic Cloud Galaxies over Argentina

Aurora Australis with Large & Small Magellanic Cloud Galaxies over Argentina

Astrophotographer Carlos Di Nallo: "On May 11, 2024, I was taking wide-field, night sky photographs in Catamarca Province, Argentina, in hopes of glimpsing auroras which had been widely reported in the Northern Hemisphere. As you can see . . . my curiosity and patience were rewarded. The red coloration of the aurora australis, resulting from the very strong solar activity the day before, was stunning. I was really surprised because at my latitude (27.5 degrees south of the Equator), it's extremely rare to be able to observe the aurora phenomenon."

"The Milky Way stretches across the top of the photo; the Southern Cross is at top right-center, and the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds are at bottom right-center. South (south magnetic pole) is toward the bottom of the photo."  

For many people, the aurora is a beautiful nighttime phenomenon that is worth traveling to Earth's polar regions just to observe. It is the only way for most people to actually experience space weather. 

Earth auroras have different names depending on the pole where they occur. Aurora Borealis, or the northern lights, is the name given to auroras around the north pole and Aurora Australis, or the southern lights, is the name given for auroras around the south pole.

Photo Details: Canon 6D camera; Canon 16/35 lens; 16 mm; f2.8; ISO 3200; 20 second exposure.

Image Credit: Photographer: Carlos Di Nallo

Location: Cortaderas, Catamarca Province, Argentina Coordinates: -27.5591667, -68.1463888

Image Date: May 11, 2024

Release Date: October 18, 2024

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