Western Cape Photographer Captures Rare Southern Lights Sighting in South Africa, Netizens Amazed

• A photographer from Gansbaai in the Western Cape captured a rare sighting of the southern lights in South Africa
• According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the cosmic show is expected to continue through Sunday
• Photos taken from all over the world show bright-coloured skies lit up in hot pink, green and purple

Trisha Pillay is a Briefly News current affairs journalist in Johannesburg. For 13 years, she has devoted her professional life to covering social issues and community news, sharing her expertise with newsrooms like The Citizen newspaper, African News Network, and Newzroom Afrika. Do you have a hard news story you would like to share? Email trisha.pillay@briefly.co.za with CA in the subject line.

WESTERN CAPE - A professional photographer from Gansbaai captured a once-in-a-lifetime sighting in the Western Cape.

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Southern lights captured

According to News24, professional photographer Hugh-Daniel Grobler was up early on Saturday morning when he saw a message about it on a photography chat group. He hopped in his car and headed off to look for a sighting.

The picture has been shared on social media and captured the powerful solar storm producing colourful light shows at unusual latitudes.

Solar storm

It has been described as the strongest solar storm in over two decades. It struck Earth on Friday, triggering spectacular auroras worldwide.

The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Space Weather Prediction Center reported that multiple coronal mass ejections (CME) had already occurred. The storm was later upgraded to an extreme geomagnetic storm. This was the first extreme storm since the Halloween storms of October 2003, which led to blackouts in Sweden and harmed power systems in South Africa.

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Every CME carries billions of tons of plasma and magnetic fields from the sun's outer layer, the corona. Scientists predict that more CMEs will reach Earth in the next few days.

Scientists say cell phone cameras may provide the best views of the aurora, as they are better at capturing light than the naked eye.

Click on the tweet below:

Netizens stunned

People across the world are amazed by the sighting of the beautiful skies. Netizens expressed how amazing the photo looked, with many hopeful South Africans wanting to catch a glimpse.

Here are some of the reactions:

@Sehale1 asked:

"Great. It's a pity we missed seeing it in Gauteng. Is there any chance we can see it again the night of 11-12 May?"

@RTmmane shared:

"And I know that no South African witnessed this except for the cameraman, yet we are in the same South Africa."

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@Aya_Muzi commented:

"Wow, this is beautiful and amazing. Are these the effects of the solar storm?"

@.J. Rams said:

"Looks like the sun is expanding to become a red giant!"

@Bokke4Life suggested:

"It looks like SA bleeding."

5 facts about Earth Day history

In a related story, Briefly News reported that the 22nd of April of each year has become an important date in that it is worldwide dedicated to celebrating Earth Day.

This period avails the organisers the opportunity to address various issues of concern in the environment.

Interestingly, the Earth Day theme focuses on "Invest In Our Planet" to mark off this year's celebration.

Source: Briefly News