"I spent three nights with almost no sleep. I always wanted to go to Iceland and Norway because of the auroras, but managing to photograph them at my doorstep was almost a dream come true, it was an unforgettable moment", he told the Lusa agency. 

Unlike many people who were surprised by the phenomenon, Serralheiro and other friends who are astrophotography enthusiasts had been following the scientific predictions for some time. 

They positioned themselves early, at 9:00pm on Friday, May 10, next to the radio telescopes of the Cambridge University astronomy observatory, and waited several hours until the "dance of lights" began. 

"Normally you see the green lights, which show a weaker intensity of ionization of the atmosphere, but we saw [lights] in pink, blue and violet", he described. 

Cameras have an advantage because they can capture the colours more sharply thanks to the long exposures, he explained, adding the technical knowledge.  

The result was dozens of photographs, some of which he placed on his website [https://www.joaoysphotography.com/], and which he may use in the future to enter competitions as an amateur photographer. 

Born in Alcobaça, João Serralheiro, 42, is a computer engineer. 

"I have a job that pays the bills and photography is a hobby, but any minute I can spare, I'm out on the street with my camera", he told Lusa. 

Before moving to the UK, about 12 years ago, he already practised landscape photography in his spare time, but interrupted the passion for a decade. 

Recently, encouraged by his wife, he returned to the hobby, this time specializing in astrophotography. 

"One of my favourite subjects is 'star trails', in which you use the movement of the earth to capture the trails of the stars, which take several hours", he said. 

One of these images, "Radio Polaris", was a finalist for the Astronomy Photographer of the Year Award, promoted by the Greenwich Observatory in London. 

The photograph was also exhibited along with those of the other finalists and the winners at the Royal Maritime Museum and published in a catalogue.

This month, he also had a photograph featured in Amateur Photographer magazine and in April he was awarded the British Institute of Photography's photograph of the month award, where he is studying. 

Getting these images involves spending many hours "at night and in the cold", but now that he has acquired the taste, João Serralheiro does not want to stop, declaring: "I am always on the hunt for an image". 

Read Also: The 'light dance' of the aurora borealis is over. (Re)see the images (Portuguese version)