Skywatchers share photos of the northern lights, visible from Czechia on Sunday

Northern lights were visible across much of Czechia last night, and they were bright enough that people could take pictures with mobile phones.

The phenomenon, also called aurora borealis, was due to the earth's magnetic field being disturbed by particles shot out from eruptions on the sun.

The Czech Hydrometeorological Institute (CHMÚ) published some images captured by people on Twitter and Facebook.

On Twitter, the CHMÚ told people of the possibility shortly before sunset. “Tonight there is hope for the aurora borealis – an hour ago material from the corona’s eruption arrived at earth from the sun. Try to catch a glimpse of the lights toward the northern horizon, but a dark sky is a must. The cloudiness will be variable, but in the Czech Republic, there is hope for partly clear skies in the evening. We are monitoring the situation,” they said.

Scientists say that viewing the aurora borealis is best from a location with an open horizon to the north, preferably somewhere in the mountains.

Jiří Bezchleba shared his pictures with news server iDnes.cz. He shot them from Roztoky, just north of Prague. "An incredible evening. Sometimes dreams really do come true. Today I absolutely did not expect that I would be able to photograph the colors of the aurora borealis not far from the house, and what's more, practically next to Prague, where there is so much light pollution," Bezchleba said.

The northern lights are quite common in polar regions, their occurrence is rare in lower latitudes. In Czechia, they are seen roughly every two to three years but were already visible at the end of February. A second occurrence in the same year is statistically unusual.

In the Nordic countries, the northern lights are visible all over the sky, but in the Czech Republic they are not high above the northern horizon. An inexperienced observer can mistake them for the glow of a distant city.