An Australian engineer has captured stunning footage of the Southern Lights illuminating the night sky over Antarctica.
Patrick James, a technical officer from the Bureau of Meteorology shared his favourite pictures of the spectacular light show to mark World Space Week.
The phenomenon occurs when solar winds cause disturbances in the magnetosphere and results in the sky lighting up with an array of green and yellow colours.
The Southern Lights, or the "Aurora Australis", can also be seen from Tasmania.
Mr James captured the stunning footage from Australia's research outpost, Davis Station in Antarctica.
In a Facebook post he explained that the bright light that can be seen floating past in the footage is the moon.
He advised: "The moon initially occupies the top-left of frame while the reddish planet emerging from bottom-right is Mars.
"Half way through the video [it] advances a few hours, Mars has moved to left of frame while the smaller red star where Mars was is Betelgeuse and the bright blue/white star centre-right is Sirius."
The engineer's work focuses on maintaining and servicing the bureau's meteorological equipment on site, ensuring the surface observations, upper air, ozone and satellite programmes at the Davis station remain uncompromised.
"It's my second Antarctic stint working as the Bureau's 'Met Technician' after wintering at Mawson in 2018/19, which is where I first learned the aurora photography techniques seen here," said Mr James.
"A sturdy tripod ensures long exposures remain sharp, while a good pair of gloves is vital for keeping the feeling in your fingers to operate camera buttons when it's -25 C."
The engineer said he has been stationed at Davis for nearly a year along with 23 other expeditioners.
"That timeline means we've completely dodged Covid-19 (so far) and literally have no idea about social distancing or what world awaits us on our return in March," he added.
