How we got great photos of the Northern Lights

Vivid colours of green, pink and red appeared bright in the skies on Monday evening.

The Northern Lights - also known as the Aurora Borealis - could be seen across the country and many of BBC South's Weather Watchers captured stunning images.

We asked them about their experience witnessing the natural phenomenon, and for any tips they would offer to others hoping to capture equally striking shots in the future.

Hang Ross, from Lyndhurst in Hampshire, said she stepped outside her front door to witness "unbelievable solar activity".

She explained how she headed deeper into the New Forest and on arrival could see "cosmic colours filling the sky above".

"There was only a narrow window before cloud rolled in," she said.

"The display was incredibly vivid, with strong greens, reds and pinks clearly visible to the naked eye, not just through the camera.

"It felt quite surreal and genuinely special to witness such a powerful show."

Yen Milne, from Fareham, said the show was "marvellous" and reminded her of a trip to Iceland.

She said she used her phone, a Samsung S25 Ultra, to photograph the moment and made sure she was using night mode.

Her advice to others trying to capture the Northern Lights was find a dark location and to be patient.

"I used the BBC Weather app, as well as the Aurora Facebook page," she said.

"Make sure you are looking up at the night sky, check for stars and hope that it isn't cloudy."

Mark Garside, from Wimborne in Dorset, said he got a notification via the Aurora Watch app.

He said: "The notification took me by surprise - I didn't expect it with all the clouds we had.

"We were lucky with the breaks in the clouds and it was simply amazing to see and capture."

He said his main piece of advice was to "keep a watch on solar activity and make sure your phone is on night mode setting."

Luke Ferguson, from the Isle of Wight, said he had spotted posts on social media earlier in the day about the the possibility of the lights being visible.

Like Mark, he downloaded an app and headed to the seaside village of Newtown after receiving a notification.

He used an iPhone 16 to capture an atmospheric image of the lights reflecting off the water.

As with the others, his advice was to download one of the Northern Lights tracking apps and - it may seem obvious - to remember to look north.

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