Short answer: The Aurora Australis (Southern Lights) occurs several times a year, but visibility depends on solar activity and local conditions. With peak activity around solar maximum, chances can be higher than usual for several weeks to a few months, especially in clear, dark southern skies. Details

• What the Aurora Australis is
  • The Aurora Australis is a natural light display in Earth’s southern hemisphere caused by charged solar particles interacting with the atmosphere near the South Magnetic Pole. It tends to appear as curtains, bands, or arcs of green, purple, or red light, often near the horizon before midnight.
• How often you can expect sightings
  • Sightings can occur multiple times per year, especially during periods of elevated solar activity. During solar maximum years, geomagnetic storms can produce more frequent and brighter displays than in quieter solar periods. However, actual eye-visible events depend on local darkness, weather, and moon phase, so they may be rare on some nights and more common on others within active windows.
• When you’re most likely to see them
  • The southern winter (roughly May through August) is traditionally strong for visibility because nights are long and skies are darker in many southern locations.
  • The period around the spring equinox and the broader solar maximum years tend to increase activity and glimpse opportunities.
  • Clear, moonless nights away from light pollution give the best chance to observe faint displays.
• Practical tips to improve seeing chances
  • Check local aurora alerts and space weather forecasts for geomagnetic activity indices.
  • Choose remote, dark locations with unobstructed northern (for the Southern Hemisphere) horizons and minimal cloud cover.
  • Allow time for your eyes to adapt to darkness; avoid bright lights nearby, and be prepared to stay up late, often into the early morning hours.

If you’d like, I can tailor this to a specific location in the Southern Hemisphere (e.g., Tasmania, Victoria, New Zealand South Island) and provide a monthly outlook based on typical patterns for that area.