Last night’s fireworks competed with a display of natural wonder in the skies above Pembrokeshire as the Aurora Borealis, also known as the Northern Lights, lit up parts of the county.

Western Telegraph: The Northern lights at the estuary in Landshipping were captured by Percolated Photography.The Northern lights at the estuary in Landshipping were captured by Percolated Photography.

The lights had been forecast for Sunday, November 5, with the best chances of seeing them said to be Scotland by the Met Office, with possibilities of sightings in central Wales and England.

In the event sightings were reported much further south with photographers and light chasers spotting them in Pembrokeshire.

Western Telegraph: David Petrie captured this stunning shot of the Northern Lights at Hook on his iphone.David Petrie captured this stunning shot of the Northern Lights at Hook on his iPhone.

Reports came in of sightings on the Eastern Cleddau, in Hook, on the Preselis and in Haverfordwest.

Pembrokeshire photographer Gareth Turnbull who owns photography, videography and drone photography company, Percolated Photography,  captured particularly evocative shots of them over the Eastern Cleddau at Landshipping at around 6pm and again at midnight.

Western Telegraph: The Northern lights at the estuary in Landshipping were captured by Percolated Photography.The Northern lights at the estuary in Landshipping were captured by Percolated Photography.

This is the not the only time the Northern Lights have been visible in Pembrokeshire this year. There were stunning displays in September, March and February this year. The March one captured here in time lapse by Percolated Photography.

The Aurora Borealis https://www.facebook.com/percolated.photographyphenomenon is being caused by a particularly active phase in the sun.

Professor Don Pollacco, department of physics at the University of Warwick, told The Press Association that the phenomenon was caused by ‘the interaction of particles coming from the sun, the solar wind, with the Earth’s atmosphere – channelled to the polar regions by the Earth’s magnetic field’.

Western Telegraph: Nicky Taylor saw the spectacular display in the Preselis.Nicky Taylor saw the spectacular display in the Preselis.

“It’s actually a bit like iron filings and the field of a bar magnetic,” he said.

“The solar wind contains more particles when there are sun spots, as these are regions on the sun’s surface where the magnetic field is interacting with the plasma in the sun, and the particles can be released.

“Once the particles are channelled into the Earth’s atmosphere they interact with molecules and have distinctive colours (eg oxygen molecules produce green light, nitrogen red light etc) and patterns such as light emissions that look like curtains or spotlights.

Western Telegraph: Nicky Taylor saw the spectacular display in the Preselis.The Northern Lights over the Preseli Hill captured by Nicky Taylor Photography

“These shapes change quickly over timescales of minutes/seconds.”

Do you have any pictures of last night’s Northern Lights? Add them in the comments below or send them to bho@westerntelegraph.co.uk.