'Rare' sighting of Northern Lights in sky above Dartmoor

Photographer Hannahbella Nel was stunned to see the Northern Light so far south

A photographer has captured a rare sighting of the Northern Lights over Dartmoor National Park.

Hannahbella Nel saw the natural light display, often seen in Norway and Iceland, in the sky above Brentor, Devon.

Instead of the classic greens and blues, the lights showed up in orange and purple - an effect of pollution and "particulate matter".

BBC forecaster David Braine said the sighting in Devon was "very rare" .

Ms Nel said this was her first visit to Brentor, a well-known spot for capturing long exposure photographs of the Milky Way and other celestial events.

A keen Aurora hunter, Ms Nel has seen the Northern Lights a number of times across the world, but she said when she saw the display in Devon on 8 July it was the furthest south she had ever seen it.

Ms Nel captured the Northern Lights on 8 July

She said: "I was completely shocked. It wasn't bright to the eye because we're so far south, but it had a milky look to it.

"I started taking photos in that direction because the camera picks up more of that light and then I started to see pink pillars. I did a little happy dance!

"It was really nice, a real treat. It was my first time at Brentor, despite the fact I grew up in Launceston, and it was so amazing."

Ms Nel is an ambassador of the NASA-funded citizen science project Aurorasaurus, that gathers real-time data about aurora sightings.

She has chased the Northern Lights in Finnish Lapland, the Canadian Rockies, Iceland, Norway and New Zealand.

Analysis: David Braine, BBC Spotlight weather forecaster

In the first two weeks of July, large solar flares were spotted erupting from the sun's surface, these are coronal mass ejections and happen quite frequently, they can also interact with the highest level of the atmosphere and create a spectacular display of the northern lights, or Aurora Borealis.

These in the far north of Europe are more often seen in winter time with much more night time and limited day light hours.

Rarely, they can be seen in Scotland in the summer and even more rarely further south.

The classic greens and blues that are often depicted in northern light photos are not seen in southern England, the effect of pollution, latitude, and particulate matter in the air gives a more orange or purple display, as was seen over Dartmoor, a very rare occurrence.

Another flare happened last Friday, but it can take a while for the geomagnetic activity to develop, there may be a chance tonight to see the lights.