When that happens, the gas bubble compresses and energizes Earth's magnetic field, slamming charged particles into the upper atmosphere and forming the auroras (aurora borealis in the Northern Hemisphere and aurora australis in the Southern Hemisphere). (nso.edu)
In the meantime he and his crew members do get to enjoy the almost otherworldly aurora australis, or southern lights. (scientificamerican.com)
In the south, it is called aurora australis, or southern lights. (nationalgeographic.org)