Aurora Australis

This weekend, the Aurora Australis unfolded neon pinks and electric greens in the skies over Te Waipounamu. A breathtaking display resulting from a sunspot group that has been continuously producing strong flares and solar eruptions over the last weeks. Energised particles from coronal mass ejections (CMEs) interact with the Earth’s magnetic field, creating incredible waves of coloured light that light up the night. These waves share an experience across earth, from Aotearoa, Australia, Canada, North America, Ireland, Wales, Scotland, England, and Europe, it has been an unexpected wonder to connect with friends across the planet through this extremely rare and wide-reaching light phenomenon.

There was a conversation on Mastodon around whether the intensity of the colours connected to climate change. We did not find any substantial research that indicated such a connection, but it is worth noting the indirect connections: the technology agencies braced for potential havoc created by the unusual geomagnetic activity. If strange space weather did have significant impacts on near-Earth infrastructures and communication technologies, the power grid, GPS, radio & satellites, it could significantly diminish the ability to respond to climate disasters like flood, landslides, wildfires, drought.

This weekend at least, the communication infrastructures were not too poorly impacted, and the clearest impact was the dimension of collective feeling as the unexpected spectacle lit up the night. The sky is dreaming worlds of colour and care. If theres is an opposite to the devastation and machines of war—this must be it. Waves of colour won’t convince warmongers to lay the weapons down, but the event is connecting, softening, opening space to breathe, to see, feel, sense differently, & step outside habit for a while. I met my neighbours staring at the sky—shared jokes, hopes, a sense of this hard moment, some wonder too. For a friend whose father died, last night was a miracle—a kiss and a goodbye. For another friend giving birth, a cosmic hello. A kinder planetary communication that touched the hearts of people, shared with no respect for the random limits of man-made borders. Some true wonder, feeding collective energy and reminding us of earth’s absolute dependency on the star of our solar system.