The Northern Lights were captured by a south Essex photographer early yesterday morning.

The lights, also known as Aurora Borealis, were captured by Rayleigh resident Cheryl McGibbon in the skies above the town after she spotted them between 3 and 4am on Monday.

The four pictures show the light’s hues of purple and orange rising above the trees against the backdrop of night.

(Image: Cheryl McGibon) (Image: Cheryl McGibon)

The Met Office have said the lights are best viewed when the sky is dark and cloudless,  away from light pollution.

A spokesperson for the forecaster said: “The best conditions to view the lights are when the sky is dark and clear of any clouds. Cloud cover ultimately blocks the view of the light.

“Ideally, the lights will be best viewed away from any light pollution, in remote areas, facing the northern horizon - north facing coasts produce some of the best viewing locations.

(Image: Cheryl McGibon) (Image: Cheryl McGibon)

“The northern lights are most active during the Equinox and Solstice in March/April and September/October.

“Predominantly the northern lights are best witnessed in Scotland, North England, North Wales and Northern Ireland. However, under severe space weather conditions, the lights can be seen throughout the UK.”

This comes after the lights were previously spotted by Cheryl back in September after the Met Office told the county’s residents to watch out for the phenomena.

The aurora is seen infrequently above the UK but were quite widespread across south Essex back in May due to strong geomagnetic storms.

The Northern Lights are caused by charged particles from the sun hitting gases in the Earth's atmosphere.

The colours occur due to different gases in the Earth's atmosphere being energised by the charged particles.

Nitrogen and oxygen are the two most common gases in the atmosphere, with nitrogen emitting purple, blue and pink colours and oxygen emitting green.