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Wales Online
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Elizabeth Thomas

Images of the Northern Lights captured during rare sighting in Wales

These photos show a rare display of the Northern Lights over Wales.

Andy Price, who captured the beautiful images, saw the aurora borealis in an incredible and rare display over Llangrannog on Sunday, March 13.

While the display wasn't visible to the eye, Andy was able to capture the images on camera. And there's a chance you can see them in Wales on Monday, March 14 too, click here for more details.

Read more: Solar storm could cause Aurora Northern Lights display to be seen in UK on Monday

"I'd had a notification during the day that there was a coronal mass ejection that happened during the day, so went out and checked the weather report and it looked like we were going to get clear skies," Andy told WalesOnline.

"I took a chance and went down to Llangrannog, and within 10 minutes of being down there and setting up the camera, they were visible.

"I set the camera up, pointed it up north and did a 30 second exposure and they were visible. They started off very faint green and then round about 11:40pm, started to get the purple curtains in it as well.

"I've been out to Iceland three times and never seen it quite like that."

Andy Price was able to capture the stunning display on his camera (Andy Price)

The Northern Lights usually light up the Arctic zone with stunning displays, but could be visible again on Monday, March 13.

Two coronal mass ejections, which are massive bursts of material from the sun, are heading towards the Earth.

The solar activity will bring the aurora borealis to a lower altitude than usual, making it much easier to catch.

According to the Met Office, the northern lights appear due to "collisions of charged particles in the solar wind colliding with molecules in the Earth's upper atmosphere".

The different colours that can be seen are due to the different gas molecules, and where they are in the atmosphere, the Met Office says.

Oxygen gives off green light when it is hit 60 miles above the Earth, while all-red auroras are produced at 100 to 200 miles rare.

Nitrogen causes the sky to glow blue yet when higher in the atmosphere the glow has a purple hue.

The best place to catch the lights is from somewhere high up and as dark as possible. Remote areas away from any light pollution are your best bet.

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