A meteor exploded and disintegrated into the night sky in a 'once-in-a-lifetime' scene above a Shropshire castle.

The breathtaking images were caught on camera at Clun Castle, Shropshire, during an Orionid meteor shower on Saturday, October 20.

Orionid meteors occur every autumn when the Earth is passing through the stream of debris left by Halley's Comet.

The long exposure image makes the celestial objects look like circular streaks of light swirling around the North Star as the planet spins on its axis.

A composite of the rare moment a meteor explodes and then disintegrates into the night sky above Clun Castle. The breathtaking images were caught on camera during an Orionid meteor shower on Saturday, October 20

Photographer Nick Jackson captured the spectacular pictures during an Orionid meteor shower. The long exposure image makes the celestial objects look like circular streaks of light

The photographer went to the castle to capture the night sky during the meteor shower. They occur every autumn when the Earth is passing through the stream of debris left by Halley's Comet

Photographer Nick Jackson had gone to the castle to shoot the 13th century edifice in front of the night sky to make a 'star trail' when he captured one of the meteors exploding

The debris disperses in the night sky above Clun Castle after the meteor exploded during teh Orionid shower, made up of the remnants of Halley's Comet

What is the Orionid meteor shower? The Orioinid shower is made up from the remnants of Halley's Comet. The comet itself was last seen in 1986 and is not due to brighten Earth's skies again until 2061. But each year in mid-to-late October, Earth passes through the comet's dusty debris. When this happens the pre-dawn sky can light up with a stunning display of shooting stars. People living in North America, Europe, most parts of Asia, and northern parts of South America can to see the meteor shower by looking towards the south-eastern sky. Those who live in the southern hemisphere can see the shower by looking to the north eastern sky. Advertisement

Photographer Nick Jackson had gone to the castle to shoot the 13th century edifice in front of the night sky to make a 'star trail'.

But halfway through the shoot, Nick saw the huge meteor fly across the sky behind the castle.

He said: 'I immediately thought, 'I hope that was caught in the frame'.

'It's very unusual to see a meteor that big. Because I was shooting the star trail, I couldn't check the footage immediately.'

But when he got home and reviewed his pictures, he realised he had caught the incredible moment.

The 44-year-old said: 'It was a sheer stroke of luck that I just happened to be shooting the series of images when it happened.

'With things like that, you've got to be in the right place at the right time.'

A series of 30 pictures made into a video shows the meteor fly into the middle of the frame and explode in a piercing flash of light.

Then as a circular cloud of debris disperses into the starlit sky, two more meteors can be seen streaking into view from different directions.

A composite of the rare moment a meteor explodes and then disintegrates into the night sky above Clun Castle. The ruined Welsh border castle was established by a Norman lord after the conquest of England

A series of 30 pictures made into a video shows the meteor fly into the middle of the frame and explode in a piercing flash of light. Each year in mid-to-late October, Earth passes through the comet's dusty debris

The sublime scene in the night sky above the ruined Shropshire castle - much of which would be invisible to the human eye - unfolded over the space of about four minutes

As a circular cloud of debris disperses into the starlit sky, two more meteors can be seen streaking into view from different directions. The comet itself was last seen in 1986 and is not due to brighten Earth's skies again until 2061

Photographer Nick Jackson used a full-frame Nikon d570 camera with a 24mm f1.4 lens to shoot the scene above Clun Castle in Shropshire

The sublime scene - much of which would be invisible to the human eye - unfolded over the space of about four minutes.

Nick from Ludlow, Shropshire, then combined the images into four seconds of footage.

He said: 'To the naked eye, it's over in a flash. You just see a streak of light and a bright ping and then it's gone.

'However, the camera captures all the detail of the aftermath. There are very few images out there that have captured this before.

'I posted it on Facebook on some astronomy groups and it just blew up over the weekend.

'People were saying, 'You're a lucky guy, that's a once-in-a-lifetime thing'.'

Nick used a full-frame Nikon d570 camera with a 24mm f1.4 lens to shoot the scene.

He said: 'The reason we photographers go out in the middle of the night and stand there in the freezing cold is because we're obsessed with the beauty of the night sky, its peace and calm.

'And when you see something like that, it's just awe-inspiring.'