Location help - Aurora Australis, Tasmania

[melnjay (Jason)]

Hi,
I'm new to astro photography and just purchased a skywatcher star adventurer Astro bundle.
I'm heading down to Queenstown Tasmania and was wondering if this would be a good place to see the aurora, when the aurora hits.
What other places in Tassie could anyone suggest?
I'm using a canon 5d Mark 2, wide angle lens and a removable head tripod.
Looking to do nightscape with the aurora.

Any suggestions I would greatly appreciated.

[tonybarry (Tony)]

Hi Jason,

You may wish to visit the Aurora service website to get updates of where and when the Aurora Australis is visible:-

http://www.aurora-service.net

Regards,
Tony Barry

[webtubbs (Wayne)]

Queenstown is surrounded by hills, so you'd have to get out of town a bit to see the Aurora properly. Or head down to Strahan on Macquarie harbour and Ocean beach which should provide better views. We are further north than Hobart and generally require a Kp of at least 6.5 to be able to see it.

The bigger problem will be the weather. The West Coast of Tasmania is renowned for it's rubbish weather. During summer we do have quite a few good days, but over on the east coast is more reliable.

For the record, I've been here for a bit over a year now and have yet to see the Aurora. The issue has been that every time the aurora forecast is good, the weather forecast is not

[melnjay (Jason)]

Originally Posted by tonybarry

Hi Jason,

You may wish to visit the Aurora service website to get updates of where and when the Aurora Australis is visible:-

http://www.aurora-service.net

Regards,
Tony Barry

Hi
Thanks Tony, we will check the site
Regards
Jason

[melnjay (Jason)]

Originally Posted by webtubbs

Queenstown is surrounded by hills, so you'd have to get out of town a bit to see the Aurora properly. Or head down to Strahan on Macquarie harbour and Ocean beach which should provide better views. We are further north than Hobart and generally require a Kp of at least 6.5 to be able to see it.

The bigger problem will be the weather. The West Coast of Tasmania is renowned for it's rubbish weather. During summer we do have quite a few good days, but over on the east coast is more reliable.

For the record, I've been here for a bit over a year now and have yet to see the Aurora. The issue has been that every time the aurora forecast is good, the weather forecast is not

Hi thank you for the helpful information much appreciated, we will check the weather and decide which location would be best, I know what you mean about the weather we just recently purchased a home in Queenstown and last time we were here the weather was ok for some of the days but it limited our photography time.
Regards
Jason