Transaction fees

Can someone help explain why I paid so much in fees to make a transfer yesterday plz? Was sending from one HW to another HW. I paid about $9 for 0.05 btc. I used the ‘normal’ fee option. Could of gone for ‘low’ but wanted confirmed quickly. In hindsight I should of waited tor a less busy/expensive time but could other factors affected the cost? Was wondering if the volume of info related to the transaction increased the fee? Because I DCA small amounts every week, was it because so many small transactions have made up this 0.05 btc?

I understand the concept of miners being paid, but often I see huge amounts being sent for cents as one of the benefits of bitcoin. Maybe they are using Lightning or Liquid?

Forgive me if this is a dumb question - just trying to learn more and not been able to find info beyond the basics on fees. Typically I just buy and hodl so not much experience in sending bitcoin.

Any info much appreciated