The Northern Lights wowed people across the borough last night, Friday, with some stunning pictures sent to us and shared on the Bury Times Camera Club Facebook page.

Also known as aurora borealis, the Northern Lights were seen across the UK and beyond.

The colourful sightings reached as far as Ireland, with the Irish weather service Met Eireann posting images of the lights in Dublin and at Shannon Airport in Co Clare.

And it appears borough residents will have the chance to catch the Northern Lights in all their glory once again tonight, Saturday.

Krista Hammond, the Met Office’s space weather manager, said: “Aurora visibility may persist through Saturday night, but as it stands this is likely to be less widespread than on Friday night with northern parts of the UK most likely to continue to have the best viewing potential.”

The visibility of the Northern Lights was increased on Friday because of an “extreme” geomagnetic storm, according to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

The NOAA said the G5 geomagnetic storm, which is considered extreme and is the strongest level of geomagnetic storm, hit earth on Thursday and could affect communications, GPS and power grids.

The cause of this storm is a “large, complex” sunspot cluster and is 17 times the diameter of earth, with the last storm with a G5 rating hitting earth in October 2003, causing power outages in Sweden.

The NOAA said the lights could be seen as far south as Alabama and southern California in the US.