Earlier this spring, thousands of us were treated to a spectacle when the Northern Lights were visible to the naked eye across much of the county. 

Residents in Brighton, Worthing and rural parts of the county were lucky enough to spot Aurora Borealis in what was believed to be a once-in-a-decade opportunity on May 11. 

Lucky stargazer Dennis Hunt hit the jackpot when he was out on Cissbury Ring to see the Perseid meteor shower on Monday night when the Northern Lights were visible from the South Downs once again. 

Dennis Hunt was only planning to see the sunset and hopefully catch a glimpse of some meteorsDennis Hunt was only planning to see the sunset and hopefully catch a glimpse of some meteors (Image: Dennis Hunt)

He said: "I arrived at 8pm left at midnight. My intention was hopefully a sunset and meteor shower but I got the bonus of the Aurora."

READ MORE: Your pictures of the Northern Lights in Sussex

According to the Met Office, the Northern Lights are usually best witnessed in Scotland, northern England, North Wales and Northern Ireland.

However, under certain space weather conditions – a particularly strong geomagnetic storm – they can be seen throughout the UK.

A magnificent long lens shot of the stars over Cissbury RingA magnificent long lens shot of the stars over Cissbury Ring (Image: Dennis Hunt)

The natural light display is caused by charged particles from the Sun interacting with Earth’s magnetic field.

The colour display depends in part on what molecules the charged particles interact with.

Unfortunately, the Met Office suggests the activity has returned back to background levels now, with any visible aurora restricted to the far north of Scotland.