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Residents snap Northern Lights in the sky at Hatchet Pond, Beaulieu, and Totton




THE northern lights brought a splash of colour to the night sky across the New Forest.

Amateur photographer Hang Ross from Lyndhurst snapped an impressive shot of the aurora borealis at Hatchet Pond near Beaulieu in the early hours today (Friday).

She told the A&T: “I am a keen photographer – in fact ‘passionate’ is best way to describe my hobby.

Hang Ross took this image of the aurora at Hatchet Pond
Hang Ross took this image of the aurora at Hatchet Pond

“I am very fortunate to live in the New Forest with my family [and] we take every opportunity to make the most of it, from sunrises and sunsets to the wildlife and change of seasons.

“I love landscape photography and combining this with weather, lunar or astro photography. Having visited Iceland and Norway, I have become keen in hunting aurora and the Milky Way in the UK, and combining this with favourite local landscapes.”

She added: “I had been at Hatchet Pond for sunset yesterday evening, but as the clouds rolled in and the aurora alert pinged on the phone I packed up and ventured further afield.

“On the way home at around midnight I headed back to Hatchet to give it one last chance, hoping for a break in the clouds. Around 2.15am there was a shower and I almost gave up, having to take shelter in the car.

“As the shower stopped I brushed off the yawns and jumped out the car. There was a break allowing the aurora to light up the darkness between the clouds and the same time the breeze dropped and the water was still, which provided reflections of the sky’s colour.”

Aurora display occur when charged particles collide with gases in the Earth's atmosphere around the magnetic poles. As they collide, light is emitted at various wavelengths, creating colourful displays in the sky.

Aurora are most commonly seen over high polar latitudes, and are chiefly influenced by geomagnetic storms which originate from activity on the sun.

The lights captured by Andrea Jenkins in Totton
The lights captured by Andrea Jenkins in Totton

Andrea Jenkins, who lives in Totton, also snapped some shots of the “amazing” aurora between 9.45am and midnight.

She told the A&T she had become “hooked” on capturing the phenomenon after photographing the aurora and a shooting star in May when the lights had also been visible.

She added: “Last night was amazing, but I think my best one so far was in May – a photographer told me it was a one-in-a-million shot.”



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