Shot of Northern Lights over Brighton dazzles in competition

Michael Steven Harris was over the moon to be highly commended in the Aurorae category of the Astronomy Photographer of the Year award for his Aurora Borealis Over Brighton Seafront picture. The competition, which is run by the Royal Museums Greenwich, is the largest astrophotography competition in the world and received over 3,500 entries this year.

Michael was third, behind the winning shot which was taken in New Zealand, and the runner up who took their photograph in Iceland, where a sighting of the Northern Lights is most likely.

Michael said: “The other shortlisted images are all absolutely incredible, so to be featured amongst them, let alone be highly commended, is a huge honour. It's also quite amusing to me that the shortlist comprises of images from Finland, Norway, and Iceland…and then Brighton is there too.”

There were over 3500 entries to the competition (Image: Michael Steven Harris) The photograph, which captures the glittering city underneath the pink of the northern lights, was captured by Michael using a drone on November 1 last year. Michael first snapped the colourful phenomenon back in February 2023, which he believes is the first time the Northern Lights were photographed in Brighton.

While the city’s light pollution makes seeing the lights near impossible, long exposures reveal the colours which are otherwise invisible to the human eye.

He said: “I spent two years trying to capture the Northern Lights in Brighton. It’s a lot of trial and error to get the right conditions.

"While I wasn’t sure if it was possible due to Brighton’s significant light pollution and the drone’s tiny sensor, I immediately knew I’d succeeded once I saw the distinctive colours in the sky on the back of my drone controller screen."

Michael’s photograph is currently being exhibited at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich.