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Article excerpt:

The aurora australis is another reason why the southern skies spark interest. Just like the Northern Lights, this phenomenon occurs when electrically charged solar particles collide with oxygen and nitrogen atoms in the earth’s atmosphere. “The Southern Lights are not that well known,” says Jasper Sigon, co-founder of Voyages & Journeys. He notes that while the colours produced can be even more vibrant, they are “much more elusive than their northern hemisphere counterpart”. The best places to witness them, he says, are around Hobart and Bruny Island in Tasmania between May and August or during the September equinox (when the northern and southern hemispheres experience roughly the same amount of daytime) – and even as far as the Antarctic continent at 70 degrees south where there is significantly less land mass. “This is why we love to carry out this experience by yacht,” explains Sigon, adding that his choice of charter yacht for clients is 39-metre The Beast, which he describes as “the ultimate yacht to chase the lights.”