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Northern lights photographed over south coast

Image gallerySkip image gallerySlide 1 of 4, Northern lights over West Bay in Dorset, The northern lights lit up the sky over Dorset on Tuesday - with stargazers, including West Bay Photography, capturing the phenomenon.

At a glance

  • Stargazers in Dorset were treated to another display of the northern lights on Tuesday night.

  • The aurora borealis, as it is officially known, is created when energised particles from the Sun hit Earth's upper atmosphere.

  • The Earth's magnetic field deflect the particles towards the poles, which means the lights are more common in those areas.

  • Activity on the Sun has been increasing over the last few years and BBC Weather says it is expected to peak this year which means the aurora becomes more frequent.

  • Published