Northern lights an 'icing-on-the-cake moment' for photographer

The UK has once again been treated to a stunning display of the northern lights.

While there was an ongoing weak solar storm, the aurora ended up being visible from the Scottish Highlands down to Cornwall on Sunday night.

One photographer was already out, having planned to capture the overflowing shaft spillways - known as "plug holes" - at Ladybower Reservoir in Derbyshire.

Prof Chris Denning then received an alert on his phone while at the site, in what he called an "icing-on-the-cake moment".

The University of Nottingham professor said: "I had actually been planning that particular shot for a while because the plug hole, when that's overflowing, is actually really pretty but I wanted to get a picture overnight.

"I needed still water and clear skies and all of that was going absolutely as planned."

It was as he was photographing that the 50-year-old - director of the university's Biodiscovery Institute - got the aurora "red alert".

"I thought 'this is unbelievable' and just carried on shooting, and sure enough, the lights came up," Prof Denning said.

According to the Met Office, the northern lights are most active between March and April and later in the year, in September and October.

The best conditions are when the sky is dark and clear, with little light pollution.

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